So Starstruck
by steelguardsexual
Summary: Lost in some world called Cocoon, Balthier finds himself caught in a battle between the gods and their puppets, all the while fighting his own battle for the title of leading man. Slight AU.
1. Not In Dalmasca Anymore

**Chapter rewritten: 10/15/11**

* * *

**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter One

Not in Dalmasca Anymore_  
_

_Truth be damned, it was nearly the end._

The air was hot, almost searing Balthier's skin to a point where his arms and legs felt numb and heavy, making him pause and wonder if the high amount of nethicite was finally getting to him. The final battle, or whatever it could be called, was tougher than any of them imagined. Vayne was a monster: a bloodthirsty, roaring hulk of rage and power. Their strength was already faltering, and soon Balthier began to think it was the end.

"Damn," he breathed heavily, aiming his fomalhaut with trembling hands. He shouldn't have given his last potion to Fran, but then again, he cared about her well being more than his own. That was how a true leading man led his life; others first, himself last.

Grimacing, Balthier looked to his other comrades, relieved to see that they were faring better than him for the time being. Fran caught sight of his discomfort and rushed to his side, wrapping her clawed fingers about his arm in a tender motion. He sighed softly as her curative magicks rushed through his veins, re-energizing his willpower and mind.

Ashe cried out, swiftly dodging a sephira blade that grazed her side. Balthier had to stop himself from running to her like a noble, lovestruck knight; she always hated men like that, she had once told him. In a heartbeat, Ashe got to her feet and tossed a Flare spell at the blade, disintegrating it in a burst of thick light.

How much longer would this go on, Balthier wondered, and when would this madness end?

_Oh, how naïve I was. The madness would never end—not as long as I was a part of it._

"Balthier!"

It was the princess, sounding oddly distressed and apprehensive. Balthier instantly looked to her, only to feel a burning sensation pierce his chest. The sephira blade twisted itself and shoved him against the metallic wall, the motion knocking the wind out of him and causing him to lurch and gag.

Everything and everyone seemed to slow down to a sluggish pace. His companions became nothing more than blurs against a red backdrop, meager figures dancing around to escape the darkness and their inevitable fate. Someone jerked the blade out of him, and Balthier collapsed into their arms, wheezing as the blood poured from his chest.

An otherworldly presence came over him, tugged at his mind like a puppeteer and lulled him into a daze. Balthier let his eyelids droop, and then he fell into what seemed to be a long, deep sleep…

* * *

Screaming. People were screaming.

Who?

Balthier forced his lethargic eyes open, stumbling and struggling to stand as he clutched his pounding head. His other hand went to his chest, searching for that Mist-sword that had so utterly pained him before. Yet—it was gone. No wound, no blood…

"What?" he murmured, looking down and patting his vest. "It's… gone."

Pushing his worries away, he looked up and squinted, only then realizing that he was no longer fighting with his allies in the _Bahamut_. Everything seemed to be covered with a green veil, little white lights sparkling from air ships that flew overhead, and the eeriness did not stop there. Screams—yes, he was most definitely not alone—erupted from all around, echoes of death and pain lining the sickening sounds.

"Where am I?" he wondered out loud.

People brushed past him as if he weren't even there, all too afraid to bother with watching where they were going. When he nearly toppled over from the sudden movements, he caught a glimpse of his clothes, only they weren't exactly how he remembered Tied around his waist was a tan scarf, and his gold-embroidered vest rested atop a white blouse with quarter length sleeves. His pants, no longer made of chromed leathers, were loose fitting and gray, and his sandals were now white knee high leather boots. When he sighed hastily and ran a hand through his tousled hair, he found a pair of goggles resting on his forehead.

Anxious, his hands went to his sides in hopes of finding something he could recognize, but it was of no avail. His trusty fomalhaut was gone.

"Damn." No weapon, no allies… he truly was lost.

Suddenly something sharp slammed against his back, and Balthier tumbled face first onto the road. His head spun from all the screams and shouts—what _was_ going on?

"On your feet, l'Cie!"

"L'Cie?" Balthier tried to stand, but two masked soldiers (at least, that was what they looked like) dragged him to his feet and gripped his arms. Another one held a gun between his eyes.

"Put 'im with the others!"

Before he could realize what was going on, they threw him like a doll into some sort of transport vehicle, and seconds after he could hear hushed voices whispering in shock. The large metal door slammed shut, and it took him a few moments to adjust his eyes to the darkened area. There were hooded people sitting in rows along the walls, and they all seemed to be watching him and only him.

Balthier said nothing and got up, promptly dusting off his vest and scowling. He joined the prisoners on the bench as the vehicle jerked to a start, and the whispers became nothing more than a ghostly memory. To be honest, he felt out of place. Well, of course he would, but even more so with all the prisoners wearing similar hooded cloaks. He looked down at himself, shrugging uncertainly.

Where was he? This definitely was not Ivalice. But where were the others, his comrades? Where was Fran—or the princess? He tried to recall just what he had been doing when he arrived in this strange world, yet his head hurt far too much to even bother thinking. Letting out yet another sigh, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do but wait. For what… he didn't know.

The vehicle violently began to skid, twisting and turning along the road until it came to a rough and sudden stop. Many fell out of their seats, but Balthier managed to clutch the railing before he joined them on the floor. Smoke and gunpowder—a familiar smell—filled his senses as he straightened and looked around, but before he could find a way out, the captives started to clamber out of the vehicle like a band of rabid animals.

He slid away from the group and pressed himself against the outside of the carrier, panting, and eyed the smoky area with caution. The soldiers were easily dispatched in the sudden rebellion, leaving behind a sickly stench of blood.

They had crashed on some sort of bridge, and there was an odd group of people handing out guns to the recovering prisoners. They must have caused the crash, he realized as he peered around the vehicle to get a better look. Still, he doubted they knew exactly what they were doing, and so Balthier decided to take matters into his own hands and find some way out on his own.

…Wherever that was.


	2. The Hero Is Here

**Chapter rewritten: 10/15/11**

* * *

**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Two

The Hero is Here_  
_

_Wherever this place was, I could tell that I was no longer in Ivalice. Without being with those I trusted, I was lost._

Why was he even running? No one was chasing him, for the most part, and he wasn't in any immediate danger. Not yet, at least. But Balthier ran as if he were running from death itself. He didn't know where to run, just as long as he was far away from the chaos of this world. A thought struck his mind: what were l'Cie, and why were the soldiers hunting them down? And—what made them think he was a l'Cie?

The others were still screaming, but their cries were drowned out by the roars of air ships and bangs of gun shots. Balthier stopped running to catch his breath and looked over the ledge, his eyes widening at the massive, towering structure standing in the middle of the vast cavern.

It looked strangely hume—it appeared to have a face hidden by the grotesque, beastly mask. It also had a pair of wide arms, but the rest of the structure was shrouded by the many ships flying around its perimeter.

Balthier leaned a bit further, then—

_Oh, bother._

—tumbled right off the edge and fell into darkness.

* * *

"That was some explosion…"

Balthier's eyes fluttered open at the muffled voice, but his vision was too far blurred for him to see a thing. He gave up and closed his eyes, resting and taking deep breaths to slow his racing heart. He felt a small hand brush his forehead, and he nearly jumped up and shoved it away if it weren't for the soothing voice telling him to lie still. The girl—her hands were too soft to belong to a man—patted his cheek as if to comfort him.

"All those poor people," she whispered, "no one deserves to be killed like that!"

"As bad as it is, there's not a whole lot we can do for them now," said the voice from before; a man, from the sound of it. "C'mon, we have to find Serah and get out of here."

Serah? Balthier's eyes shot open, and he could finally make out the three faces staring down at him. The girl regarded him with wide green eyes before covering her mouth to stifle a gasp.

"Could have sworn I was dead," Balthier groaned, rubbing his eyes with a gloved hand. No one said anything, even when he sat up and moved away from the girl's lap. "Who are you?" he demanded, glaring at the three. Again, they were silent. Couldn't they understand him?

The girl, blushing from embarrassment, bowed her head. "I'm Vanille," she answered cheerfully, a small, but excited smile on her face. She looked no older than Penelo, and the clothes she wore made her look as if she were from Bhujerba. But he knew that wasn't the case; Ivalice seemed so far away from this world.

"This is Hope," she continued, gesturing toward the silver haired boy with a sour, yet sad expression. "And that's Snow." She pointed toward the tall blond man wearing a white trench coat, but he was hardly paying attention as he paced.

Balthier frowned. Apparently the people of this world didn't have manners.

"What's your name, one who fell from the sky? Vanille asked, tilting her head slightly.

He waited, unsure if these people—whoever they were—could be trusted. "Balthier," he finally said, and took her hand, pressing a light kiss to her soft skin. Vanille's cheeks turned bright red and she giggled, pulling away and standing up. "Tell me, what is the… whole problem with your society?"

The blond, Snow, looked at him strangely. "Huh?"

"The soldiers," Balthier continued, "they took me captive and tossed me with the rest of the prisoners until…" Ah, now he understood. "Until you and your insurgence rescued us, I suppose. Anyway—the soldiers called me something… odd. A l'Cie, I believe. Mind telling me what a 'l'Cie' is?"

The very word seemed to set Snow on edge. "You're… not from here, are you?" he asked tightly.

"Figured that out just now, hm?"

When Balthier stood, careful not to strain his sore back, Hope stepped forward from behind Vanille, both timid and wary.

"Then… are you from Pulse?" he hesitantly asked.

"He doesn't dress the same way," Vanille was quick to pipe up. "But then again, Pulse hasn't been lived on for hundreds of years…"

Pulse—queer name for a queer place. "I'm from Ivalice. Ever heard of it?" Balthier crossed his arms. "Of course not. You would have said something by now."

Vanille, her smile stretched across her face, reached over and grabbed his hands. "Well, then maybe we can help you! Stick with us, and you'll be just fine!"

Her offer was tempting, and though it seemed like he didn't have any other choice, he wasn't sure whether he could trust anyone. Fran would have told him he was going soft, because the pleading glint in Vanille's eyes spoke more volumes than her overly friendly proposal.

"We have to get going," Snow interrupted. "Serah's still out there, and I'm not going to just stand here and wait for Cie'th to swarm us again."

Balthier smirked, intrigued. "Oh? Some sort of hero, are you?"

"I'm _the_ hero."

He took off running behind some door as if he knew exactly where to go—which Balthier highly doubted—and not too long after, the boy Hope trailed after the blond. Vanille, giggling, turned around.

"Well? Are you coming along, Balthier?" she asked before chasing after the other two. The tall, luminous door engulfed her like a monster devouring its prey. The very thought made Balthier shiver, and luckily no one was there to see his temporary worry.

_I had a choice to make: follow those three and save the girl, or find a way back to Ivalice on my own. The decision, no doubt, would seal my fate in not only this world, but Ivalice as well._

Sighing tiredly, Balthier took one step forward and clenched his fingers into weak fists. His instincts told him to follow the other three, yet—was it the right choice? The girl, Serah, must have been in danger if Snow was so determined to save her. And who was he to call himself _the_ hero? As far as Balthier was concerned, _he_ was the only leading man of the story. No fool declaring himself a hero of the people could change that.

"Well, I can't stand here forever," he muttered and shook his head. If there was a girl needing to be saved, the leading man would have no choice but to answer her call. Who knew—perhaps he would be able to see what this new story would unfold.

* * *

He managed to catch up with the other three faster than he expected. Vanille seemed more than happy to have him there, and Snow merely nodded in his direction, glad for whatever help he could offer. Hope, on the other hand, didn't seem to care at all. In fact, from Balthier could see from the boy's subtle glare, he was planning something in the back of his mind.

The hallway seemed endless; its narrow path hardly left any room for them to walk, let alone stand up straight. Since Balthier had to duck down in order to avoid banging his head on the ceiling, Snow was practically on his hands and knees. But he was determined to go on, even if it meant leaving the rest of them behind. Vanille hummed to herself as she and Balthier walked side by side, and occasionally she would smile in his direction, seeing as how he kept a stiff, blank façade the entire time.

"How long have you been with them?" he asked, trying to break the obvious tension. "A girl of your caliber doesn't seem like the type to follow strangers."

"Quite the opposite!" she said with that bright smile. "Hope and I were on the same transport after we were Purged, and we've been together since…" Her expression shifted from joy to sorrow in an instant. "Since his mother died in the fight."

Ah, so his mother died. Balthier felt a twinge of pity for the boy, but left it at that.

"Then, after we made our way into the Vestige, we were ambushed by a group of Cie'th. And then Snow showed up, being the hero he says he is!"

"Hero, you say?" Balthier narrowed his eyes and glanced to where Snow led the group. "Bah, this story can't possibly have _two_ leading men." Vanille started giggling, prompting him to ask, "What is so amusing?"

"Are you a hero, too? Just like in the stories? The hero who stops the villain, saves the day and gets the girl?"

He hadn't seen any sign of a villain, save for those soldiers earlier; he hadn't discovered any danger, unless the whole being taken captive and almost killed could be considered 'dangerous'; and as for getting the girl… Balthier met Vanille's eyes, somewhat bothered at the way she tended to flush and look away.

"That about summarizes me, I suppose," he finally said.

"Maybe that's what you're here for: to stop the Purge and save us all!"

Balthier stared at her in silence, but for some reason, her words made a semblance of sense. The world, that definitely was _not_ Ivalice, was in dire need of saving. But that didn't mean Balthier was willing to save it if it meant risking his own life.

Breathing heavily, Snow ran up to them, and judging by the anxious and uneasy look on his face, something was wrong. "We've got trouble ahead," he panted. "A whole gang of Cie'th is just… waiting for us. How'd they get in here, anyway? From the Vestige?"

"Cie'th?" Balthier turned toward Vanille, who had already pulled out her weapon: an odd fishing rod that looked more like a pair of antlers from a horned fiend tied together.

"L'Cie who didn't complete their Focus in time," she said hastily, dashing after Snow and Hope. Balthier sped after her, jogging to keep up. "They wander around, unable to do anything else after losing their—how can I say it? Um, humanity!"

By the time they had reached the end of the narrow hall, Snow had jumped headfirst into battle and tackled one of the deformed, writhing creatures called Cie'th. Balthier grimaced; without a weapon, he'd have to dirty his hands to survive in this world. Hope, cowering behind Vanille and using her as a shield, avoided looking at the creatures altogether even though he carried a weapon (though, a boomerang was hardly a formidable weapon).

The Cie'th were on the hunt and they were the prey. Balthier cracked his knuckles and waved a small protection spell to Hope and Vanille, and almost simultaneously the boy flinched and looked up.

"Ah, magick must not be a usual thing here," Balthier murmured. He nodded to the boy, then turned his attention toward the creatures limbering toward them. "You all right, Hope?" he called out, smirking.

Hope swerved, waving his boomerang around in a pathetic attempt to fend off any threats. It almost pained Balthier to figure out that the boy thought that he—for whatever reason—was the threat. Somewhere not too far, Snow slammed his boot in the mangled face of a Cie'th, grinning widely from the euphoria of battle.

"You said you weren't a l'Cie," Hope spat, his free hand gripping Vanille's arm. "But you can cast magick like them!"

_Of course._ "Where I'm from, magick isn't reserved for the damned," Balthier explained, taking a few steps back. "Everyone—even foolish orphans—can cast it."

"How are we supposed to believe that? We don't even know you, so—"

As if to prove a point, Balthier flung a small Flare spell toward the Cie'th, promptly knocking one off the edge of the platform. He turned, facing the two children with a stern glare.

"I am not your enemy," he said flatly. "You can believe that."


	3. The Pulse fal'Cie

**Chapter rewritten: 11/15/11.**

* * *

**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Three

The Pulse fal'Cie

_I wanted to believe that by helping them, I could find my way back to Ivalice. But I wondered: what if I was following them into a fate that would consume our lives?_

Balthier had never been much of a mage, despite all the good things Fran had told him in the past. She'd convinced him to give magick a try after they had officially become partners, claiming that there wasn't a single sky pirate in Ivalice that didn't know at least one spell.

Oh, how he wanted to thank her for that right then.

Magick was his only weapon for the time being. The Cie'th, he discovered, were weak to fire magick, much like the undead back in Ivalice. Occasionally he sent a curative spell to Snow and Vanille, but other than that he spent most of the battle defending Hope. The boy was still wary, but there was hardly any bite to his glare.

When he wasn't looking, however, one of the Cie'th managed to grab hold of Hope with its claws, nearly choking the poor boy when he tried to escape. Naturally, it was Balthier's job to save those in need… unless, of course, there was someone like Snow who decided to steal the show.

"Outta my way!" the blond man roared, tackling the Cie'th that had latched onto Hope. The fiend loosened its grip enough for Hope to scurry away once Snow had barged in, and he instantly went to Vanille for further protection.

The sky pirate scowled, folding his arms as he watched Snow beat the creature with his own fists. That was the main reason why he despised relying on brute strength; not only did it look barbaric, but it made the fighter look utterly foolish. The tall blond returned to them once he was done, adjusting the black gloves on his hands as if beating his enemies to death was exciting. Vanille, dragging Hope by the arm, ran over as well, her red hair slipping out of her pigtails.

"That was fun!" she cheered, hooking her rod onto her belt. While she fixed her hair, Balthier turned his attention to the other two, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly when he realized Snow was intently staring at him.

"I saw what you did back there, casting—" Snow started, but Balthier rolled his eyes.

"Magick, I know. But I'm no l'Cie," he assured him, tilting his head and smirking. "Magick is a normal occurrence in my world… unlike here, it seems."

To his surprise, Snow merely shrugged and nodded. "All right. I can believe that."

He wandered off, leaving Balthier to stand there without any idea of what just happened. Hope, on the other hand, resumed his solemn aura and followed Snow down the stairs and deeper into the Vestige. Once they were out of sight, Vanille touched Balthier's shoulder and smiled softly.

"Come on, let's go."

* * *

As they ventured further, Vanille told him everything she understood about the world's current… events. L'Cie were people chosen by the fal'Cie, the god-like creatures of the world. The l'Cie, then, would be given a task called a Focus, and if they failed that task they would be transformed into the beasts known as Cie'th. But if they somehow found a way to complete their Focus, they would be given 'eternal life' and become a crystal. Neither of those fates were very intriguing, Balthier decided.

The l'Cie weren't well liked in this world. The Sanctum—just a fancy name for the 'Empire', Balthier mused—wanted nothing more than to rid Cocoon of anything impure. And so, the Purge arrived. Vanille told him that people who were suspected as l'Cie had been put onto trains that would go to Gran Pulse, the world above Cocoon.

When he asked who Serah was, Vanille admitted that she wasn't entirely sure. But the way she shifted her gaze to the side and went silent made Balthier wonder if she wasn't being completely honest. He thought about asking Snow, but he didn't want to be forced to hear another word about him being _the_ hero. Balthier wasn't ready to hand off that title just yet.

"She must be important to him," Balthier murmured, "if he's willing to go running about this place to find her."

"I think I remember him saying that Serah was his fiancée…" Vanille pursed her lips, then looped her arm around Balthier's elbow. "After we save Serah, we'll help you find your way home! It's the least we can do, since you're helping us right now."

"There's not much else I can do, lest I want to end up Purged again." He was surprised at how easily the words slipped off his tongue; gods forbid he already understood this place…

They found the other two waiting by an elevator; Hope stood as far away as possible from Snow, who kept pacing across the floor with a worried look on his face. Vanille went to Hope and started chattering away, attempting to cheer up the boy as much as she could. Sighing heavily, Balthier leaned against one of the pillars and closed his eyes.

"Nerves getting the best of you?" he asked. He heard Snow's footsteps come to a distinct halt. Ah, so he _was_ paying attention. "Heroes ought to be ready for anything. Expect the unexpected." A smirk crept across his lips. "Isn't that how the stories go?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Snow took a deep breath. "What about expecting the expected?"

Balthier snorted, opening his eyes and walking past the blond. "Now you're not making any sense at all."

"You just said—"

"Who listens to strangers these days?" Balthier wondered, resting a hand on his chin. "Really, with all that's going on, one would think listening to strangers would be the last thing on anyone's mind."

Snow rubbed his forehead. "Let's just go, okay?" he called to the other two. "We've wasted enough time."

Balthier followed the blond onto a platform, careful not to trip over the numerous cracks in the old brick, and stood between him and Vanille. She met the pirate's eyes for a moment, and he could have sworn he saw something akin to sadness there, despite her warm smile.

The platform lowered them down deep into the Vestige where there was hardly any light at all. Hope looked over the edge, standing on his toes until Balthier pulled him back by the neck of his shirt. The boy scowled and moved closer to Vanille, tentatively wrapping his fingers around her wrist and avoiding making eye contact with anyone.

"Serah!"

Snow's pained voice was like a gun shot in the dead of night: unexpected and fierce. He jumped off the platform before it reached the lowest level and rushed over to a woman with pink hair and a stern glare, who held a smaller girl in her arms. Vanille and Hope stood by a black man with an afro and overcoat, while Balthier stood off on his own.

The girl—who he figured was Serah—smiled at Snow when he took her hand. "Is that… my hero?" she asked in a faint voice.

"Let's get you out of here," Snow urged, but the woman holding Serah shook her head.

Balthier didn't bother to pay much attention to the banter between Serah's older sister and Snow (though it was something on the lines of Snow being too much of an oaf to protect his fiancée, much to Balthier's amusement). It wasn't until Serah spoke up that he really paid attention to what was going on.

"You can save us… Protect us all… Save Cocoon…"

And that was it. Serah began to glow and disappear within a bright blue light, and before Balthier could understand what was going on, she was gone. In her place, drifting a few inches above the floor, was a crystal figure.

"She's… a crystal?" Balthier murmured, stepping forward, but he stopped himself and turned his eyes away.

"L'Cie who complete their Focus are transformed into crystal and gain eternal life," Hope said. The blue light from Serah's crystal reflected on his face, too, leaving an almost angelic presence in the air.

"Just like the stories say," the black man added in.

_Stories. A mere fairy tale used to escape reality. The leading man never let the damsel in distress die, but… I had._

Snow bowed his head and shut his eyes. "Sweet dreams, Serah," he whispered, barely audible.

"Sweet dreams?" Serah's sister spat, grabbing the front of Snow's shirt. "She's not sleeping! Serah… she's—"

"She's _alive_, Lightning. The legend! Remember the legend!" He seemed confident, but even Balthier could hear his doubt. "_L'Cie who fulfill their Focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life_. It's the same with Serah! Eternal life! She's not dead!" He looked back down at Serah's crystal. "Serah's my bride to be. I promised to be hers forever, and I don't care how long I have to wait—"

Lightning's fist came crashing against his face, sending him flying to the floor.

"It's over!" she shouted, clenching her fingers as she took a step back from him. "Open your eyes and face reality!"

As if her furious cries were enough to make the whole building collapse, everything began to violently quake and tremble, pillars collapsing and walls tumbling from above. Balthier grabbed Vanille before she was crushed by a falling pillar and pulled her close. She stared at him with wide green eyes, biting her lower lip. "What's happening?" she called out. "What's going on?"

"Must be a Sanctum strike," the black man, Sazh, concluded. "Bring down the Vestige and the fal'Cie right with it!"

"Can't they just send it back to Pulse? That's what the Purge to for, right?"

"All they care about is getting everything from Pulse off Cocoon. Dead or alive—it's all the same."

Hope grabbed Balthier's arm, the one that wasn't wrapped around Vanille, and shook his head. "We can't stay here," he whimpered. "They'll—they'll kill us!"

As soon as the chaos slowed, dust clouding the room like a fog, Balthier looked up and squinted. A strange red marking appeared on the door at the top of the stairs, glowing for a moment before opening. Snow bent down on one knee and held Serah's crystallized hand.

"I'll be right back. Hold on," he told her, as if he believed she could hear him. He stood and met Balthier's eyes, smirking. "Watch over her for me, will you, Balthier?"

"And where do you think you're going?" the sky pirate asked, releasing his firm hold on Vanille. She squirmed, blushing furiously.

"Date with the fal'Cie. Got some things to talk about."

Sazh gaped at him. "What? You're gonna ask _it_ for help? Are you out of your mind, kid? That thing wants to chew us up and spit us out!"

Gritting his teeth, Snow turned away. "Well, what do you want me to do? Huh? I'm not just gonna stand here and wait around!"

Lightning seemed to recover a semblance of control and brushed past him, only glancing once in Balthier's direction. She went right to the door and walked through, never looking back. Snow, just as surprised as everyone else, turned around and shrugged. His eyes met Balthier's again, and the sky pirate wondered if all the people of this world were either insane, or just madly stubborn.

"I'll watch your girl," Balthier answered. "Go on, Ice."

"It's _Snow_, but thanks." And with that, Snow left as swiftly as Lightning. Soon after him, Hope ran through the door, followed by Sazh and surprisingly Vanille as well. She winked at Balthier, waved to him, and then left.

Sighing deeply, Balthier relaxed his shoulders and looked over to the crystal a short distance away. "Why is it I must do all the dirty work around here?" he asked, approaching the crystal and sitting down beside it. "Not that you would even understand—you're a crystal now." Slowly, he lifted his hand and entwined it with Serah's shimmering ones, only to shake his head in disappointment when she remained unmoving.

"I must be going mad, thinking I can cure the dead with a mere touch…" With a chuckle, he glanced toward the large door. "Though I wonder: are they the mad ones, and I am the only sane one here?"

He wanted nothing more than to understand what had happened since he somehow left Ivalice and ended up in this mad world. Something wasn't right, and now that the rest of them had decided to go up against a god—well, things seemed like they would only get worse.

_I could just hear Basch commenting on my situation at the time. "The Fates jest, Balthier. I would advise you to take caution, and trust only those who genuinely offer their assistance."_

If only there was someone left he _could_ trust. Hadn't he once said that he despised being left behind? Fran shook her head whenever he had complained about the times when she would go off on her own for a while. Call him 'clingy', as many would, but Balthier preferred to be in the company of others at all times, lest he chose to leave.

Balthier opened his eyes, casting his gaze upon Serah's peaceful expression. His hand found its way to hers again, but as soon as he touched the crystal the entire place began to quake yet again. He instantly stood, shielding his eyes from the bright light erupting from the door. Cursing under his breath, he cast a protection spell upon both himself and Serah's crystal before the light covered them both.

* * *

Balthier found himself standing in the middle of a field of flowers, a light shining down upon his surroundings with a strange glow. Once he regained focus, his squinted when a small figure stood not too far. She turned around, smiling once their eyes met.

"Serah…"

She nodded and held out her head. He stared at her for a moment until he reached forward and took her hand in his own. It was cold—much like it was when she was crystal.

"You don't have to be afraid," she told him. "You'll understand everything soon enough. Things like this take time, you know?"

"Tell me why I'm here, Serah. The others…" He frowned. "They do not seem to understand what's going on or why I came to this world in the first place."

Serah released his hand and turned, looking toward the bright light in the sky. "Do you see that, up there? That's Cocoon, my home. And this is Pulse. Gran Pulse."

"Vanille mentioned this place, if I recall. She said this is where those declared as l'Cie were Purged… this was where they almost took me, isn't it?" He let out a heavy sigh. "I need to return to Ivalice, Serah. I know you and your lot might believe I'm some deity destined to save your world, but trust me: I am far from that."

"Like I said, don't worry. Just wait, and you'll see."


	4. Lightning Strike

**Author's Note:** _I shouldn't be allowed to like this fic so much. But I'm having too much fun watching the cut scenes from FF13 repeatedly. Especially the ones for this chapter. :D I like watching Snow get his butt kicked, despite him being one of my favorite characters. Anywhoo..._

_My thanks once again go out to __**Joshua Chung**__, for being epically amazing and awesome. :D Your review made me grin like a maniac, despite how tired I was at the time! I don't recommend staying up late to watch cut scenes and write out ideas...Whoo._

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Four

Lightning Strike

_Call me childish, but the only thing that I wanted to do at that time was find a way home, to Ivalice. I wondered if Fran and the others had even noticed that I was no longer with them in that last battle, or had they, too, been lost to some world they did not know?_

The first things Balthier noticed when he had awoken from his self-induced slumber were the voices arguing somewhere close by to where he laid. Then he noticed how damn _cold_ the air was and forced his eyes open to see where he was. At first he thought he was back in Ivalice and was lost somewhere in the Paramina Rift, but then he remembered his dream, what Serah had told him. "Save the world, right," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood. He wished he'd thought to ask the girl to send him somewhere warmer, not some ice wasteland.

He turned his head slowly to have a look around, but something behind him caught his eye. It was the girl's crystallized form, encased with the ice and the other crystals around her. When he took a step forward to reach her, he heard the clicking of a gun and froze in place.

"Another Purgee?" a soldier asked, aiming his gun at the sky pirate.

Balthier groaned, rolling his eyes. "Not again," he muttered under his breath, turning around and raising his arms. Trying to take on the small squadron of soldiers was not the best thing to do, in his opinion, so he had no choice but to surrender. Besides, he still had no weapon, and he wasn't a barbarian like Snow. He'd prefer not to get his hands dirty like that foolish oaf.

"Shut it!" The soldier aimed the gun directly at his face, but Balthier remained calm and collected. "Let's take this one back to the ship."

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Getting captured and called a l'Cie or Purgee again was not part of Balthier's plans. If what Serah had told him was true, then he would require help if he was to save Cocoon from the gods they followed. Finding the others he'd seen earlier was on the top of his list, followed by saving the world and returning to Ivalice. If only he hadn't forgotten how he'd ended up on Cocoon in the first place...

Being led to his doom by a group of soldiers was a very familiar occurrence to him; living the life of a sky pirate came with its perks, of course. He simply put on his facade of a willing prisoner and allowed himself to be led to wherever they were taking him. If luck would have it, he would meet up with the others he'd met before ending up in yet another odd place. Surely they, too, had been sent here by Serah - Why else would she have spoken to him, despite her current crystallized state?

He remembered how Snow had mentioned that he was going to ask the fal'Cie to help Serah, to turn her back. That must have had something to do with Balthier being sent to the crystallized lake. The fal'Cie, as Vanille had told him, were like the Occuria in Ivalice. Gods using humes as their puppets, just so they could sit around and watch their tools tear each other apart.

_It seemed as if our worlds weren't completely different after all..._

Balthier lazily looked up as soon as one of the soldiers grabbed his arm, holding him back for some mysterious reason. Before them were the humes from before: Snow, Lightning, Vanille, Sazh and Hope. The tall blond and the female soldier looked as if they had been arguing, and they all turned around once the Sanctum soldier in the front yelled at them.

"Freeze! Place your hands behind your heads!"

All of them, apart from Lightning, did as they were told. When Balthier peered out from behind the leading soldier, their eyes met and she reached for her gun. She must have recognized him, obviously. He sighed to himself just as Vanille caught sight of him and stepped forward, waving a hand.

"You're all right!" she exclaimed, smiling; as usual. However, as soon as she moved closer to him, one of the soldiers pointed their gun at her and she stopped in mid-step, her eyes going wide. While the soldiers were distracted, Balthier began untying the ropes around his wrists as quickly as he could. Things were about to get a tad bit violent.

"I said, freeze!" the man yelled, angered by the girl's foolishness.

Balthier knew exactly what to do right then. His eyes met Lightning's again, and she nodded once; that was the only signal he needed to make his move. He stepped forward, undoing the rope and tossing it aside, then he tapped a finger against the soldier's armor. "That's no way to treat a lady," he said with a smirk, and before the man could turn around and shoot him, Balthier raised a hand and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ice-covered ground.

Lightning pulled out her blade and jumped into the air, kicking one of the soldiers to the ground once she landed. Before any of the other men could reach her, Balthier cast a quick immobilize spell to hold them in place until the other humes could join in the fight. Just as he stood up straight he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, flinging him over their shoulder. He nearly let out a loud curse when he heard that damned _oaf_ laughing. Snow carried Balthier away from the battle, despite the sky pirate's _slightly_ vulgar protests.

Then there was a large explosion right where they had just been standing, and Lightning flicked her hair back as she walked away from the destruction she had just caused. Balthier begrudgingly pulled himself away from the taller man, falling on his behind against the cold ice and rubbing his head.

"Do _not_ try that again, you-"

"You're hurt," Snow said, smirking as if he found the other man's discomfort amusing. "Didn't you notice?"

Balthier blinked slowly before looking down at his side - the blond was right. Blood slowly seeped out from under his vest, and he cursed out loud again as he pressed a hand against the wound. "That doesn't mean you had to toss me around, Ice!" he muttered, "Damn soldiers must have gotten me when I wasn't looking..."

"I'll help!" Vanille skipped over to him and knelt down beside him, moving his hand away and touching the wound. A pale blue light appeared around her hands and covered the spot, healing it in a matter of seconds. When she finished, she looked up at him and smiled widely. "Good as new!"

Magick. She had done _magick_. Balthier wondered if there had been something that she had yet to tell him about herself. Hadn't he been told that only l'Cie could cast magick in that world?

"Thought they'd be tougher than that," Sazh commented as he examined one of the soldiers' bodies that Lightning had so graciously slaughtered. "These guys are PSICOM, yeah? Supposed to be the cream-of-the-crop."

Snow shrugged his shoulders, walking away from Balthier and Vanille. "Yeah, but PSICOM's an anti-Pulse task force. Haven't fought a war in centuries. Bunch of rookie troops swinging around over-priced toys."

"So, what you're telling me, it sounds like a regular old soldier has got more training than special forces."

"Nothing for us l'Cie to be afraid of!"

Balthier raised an eyebrow, looking to Vanille for an explanation. She only nodded, frowning for the first time. So his suspicions were true: the five of them were l'Cie now. That light, the explosion, it was because of the fal'Cie they had gone to confront. It turned them into l'Cie and sent them to some unknown place. He looked around again, narrowing his eyes slightly. It had frozen everything to crystal after it turned them into its puppets.

"Cut the crap," Lightning snapped from where she stood across from Snow and beside Hope. "Their grunts might be green, but PSICOM's elites are cold blooded beasts. They hit the field and it's game over."

Vanille stood up as soon as the female soldier spoke, backing away. "Uh oh!" she exclaimed, "Then let's run away! Ciao!" And with that, she took off running in the direction Balthier had come from; all by herself.

"Wait!" Balthier stood up almost as quickly as she, wincing from his sore side but running after her, nonetheless. Why did _he_ have to feel the need to watch over that foolish girl?

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Thankfully the others took the hint and followed the two of them, and after calmly yelling at the girl to stop running, Balthier was tired. Not only was he running out of magick energy, but he wanted nothing more than to just lie down somewhere and rest. True, he'd been knocked out a few times by damned gods, but that wasn't the kind of sleep he wanted. He hadn't gotten any _real_ sleep since the night before...Before what, again? Damn, how could he have forgotten? It did not make sense...!

He decided that it was in the best interest for both himself and Lightning (he didn't care what Snow thought) to lead them to where Serah's crystal was. Lightning seemed like the type of woman who only wanted results, not mere guesses and inconveniences. That, and seeing the way she fought meant that she didn't want anyone to get in her way of anything. Balthier preferred not to get on her bad side, lest he wanted to end of like the Sanctum soldiers.

_My first impression of Lightning...She reminded me of the princess. Determined, but underneath that determination was a frightened woman. Afraid for those she loved._

Sighing deeply, Balthier looked over to the rest of the humes - or, would he have to call them "l'Cie", now? Vanille seemed to be as cheerful as she had been before, and it looked like, at that time, she was trying to cheer up Hope. The boy was sulking as he walked with her, only staying with her because no one else was talking. Well, apart from Snow's constant comments about everything around them. Balthier wondered if that man didn't know when to be silent, or was just oblivious to how the rest of them felt about his bothersome voice.

_Now, Snow reminded me far too much of an older, yet still immature Vaan. He was far too confident for his own good. Surely his over-confidence and optimistic views would get him killed, or perhaps murdered by Lightning._

Snow looked at Balthier with a confused expression on his face, noticing how much the sky pirate had been staring at him. Lightning glanced back at them, but it seemed as if she refused to look the tall man in the eyes. She slowed her pace down a bit and walked side-by-side with Balthier, much to his surprise (and Snow's, but, again, he chose not to care).

"You were there," she quietly said to him, avoiding his gaze, "when Serah...disappeared. And now you're with us, again. You keep showing up when ever there's danger." She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"Straight to the point, aren't you?" Balthier couldn't help but smirk. "Balthier. Sky pirate and leading man, at your service." He winked at her, but she merely rolled her eyes; unshaped by his charms.

"Sky pirate? Never heard of those."

He let out a weak sigh of disappointment. "I would imagine so. This world is not like mine, unfortunately."

"You're from Pulse, then?" Lightning asked, looking back toward the others as they walked on ahead.

"_Ivalice_," he told her with a shake of his head. Must everyone think that only because he wasn't from their world, that he was from the place where l'Cie were to be banished to?

"Never heard of that, either. But you're still stuck here, like the rest of us. Damned by the fal'Cie..."

"On the contrary. I was watching over your sister when the lot of you ran off and confronted that terrible beastie. After that place was destroyed, I found myself lost with only a voice in my mind to guide me." He shrugged his shoulders. "I may seem odd to you, but I assure you that I'm perfectly harmless. Though...It would seem I can't say the same for the rest of you."

Lightning made some sort of "hmph" sound and walked off ahead of him, quickening her pace. Balthier opened his mouth to say something else to her, but he had a feeling that if he said anything else she would send her wrath upon him. And that was something he did not want to witness again, at least not for a while. He sighed deeply and hung his head low, only looking up when he heard someone _snickering_ behind him.

"You obviously don't know how to handle women like Lightning," Snow commented, grinning widely.

Balthier rolled his eyes. "I know my women well, mind you. And I'd rather you keep your needless words to yourself, Ice."

"My name is _Snow_."

"I don't see a difference between the two." Ignoring Snow's quiet complaints, he looked ahead toward where Lightning walked. He waited a moment before asking, "Tell me, what's her story?"

"Her?" Snow seemed to be surprised, for he looked between the two of them in confusion. "The name's Lightning, last name Farron. First name, on the other hand, is anyone's guess. She used to be a soldier for the Sanctum until she, apparently, _willingly_ let herself be Purged."

"...To save her sister, I presume."

"Yeah, to save Serah." Snow sighed, relaxing his shoulders as he walked. "You said you know where Serah is, right now?"

The sky pirate nodded. "Those soldiers we fought took me away from her as soon as I had awoken. If we continue the way we're going now, we'll find you girl. You need not worry."

"...Right."

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Walking between Hope and Vanille, Balthier kept his eyes ahead of them in case some fiend jumped out at them. They'd run into a few monsters, Cie'th, but there wasn't anything too vicious after them. There weren't any signs of the Sanctum's soldiers, either, and for that he was glad. He didn't know if he could handle any more surprises...

Lightning had slowed her pace as soon as they reached a clearing, surrounded by fallen air ships and trains. She stopped completely when something ahead of the group caught her eye. "Serah," she breathed, quietly.

Balthier looked up as soon as he heard her voice, finally recognizing where they were. Serah's crystal was just up ahead, right where he'd left her. Snow took off running as soon as he caught sight of her, too, and yelled out her name as loud as he could.

"Serah!" he exclaimed as he knelt down in front of her crystal, a hand instantly reaching for her face. "I'll get you out of there." He managed to find a part of a ship, conjoined poles of some sort, and began using it in an attempt to break the crystal free. Vanille and Sazh went to help him, knowing that he couldn't do anything on his own. Standing back with Hope, Balthier sighed as his eyes caught sight of Lightning. She was staring intently at the crystal, her sister, lost in her own thoughts - what she was thinking, he could only guess.

"This is good-bye," she whispered, turning her back on the group and beginning to walk away.

The three working over by the crystal looked up at her, and Snow stood up. Balthier had a feeling that things weren't going to stay as peaceful as they had been for the past hour.

"Lightning!" the blond said, "You're just gonna leave her?"

"PSICOM will be here soon," Lightning answered, not looking back at them. "If they find us, we're all dead. You think Serah would want that? You think you know how she feels?"

"If I leave her, then I'll never know. We'll be fine! I can handle anything they throw at us." He cast his eyes downward slightly, then looked back to her. "No one will die. I'll protect Serah, and Cocoon!"

Lightning turned around, her eyes narrowed in frustration. Not a moment later, she stormed up to him with a raised arm and punched him right in the face. Balthier could only watch as Snow was knocked to the ground, falling against Sazh and knocking him over, too.

"Does she look protected to you?" she yelled, taking a step back.

"I can save her!" Snow yelled back as he stood. She hit him again, just as hard as before.

"What can you possibly do?"

He sat up, staring her directly in the eyes. "Whatever it takes!"

Lightning raised her hand, about to hit him yet again, but Balthier took hold of it and held her back. She didn't look back at him, and after a few moments she relaxed and turned away from them all. He slowly let her hand fall from his grasp, watching her with caution.

_I had an idea about how Lightning was feeling at that time. I knew what it was like to lose a family member; unable to stop whatever fate had planned for them. I never believed in fate, but sometimes...It seemed as if that was the only excuse any of us could come up with._

Sazh stood up, looking between the pair, and he sighed as he walked past. "You two are hopeless," he said, "You just can't admit it. You want to stay just as much as he does."

Following the other gunner, Balthier looked back at Lightning, wondering if what Sazh had said was true. But his thoughts were cut short when something from above shined a light on the two of them. He shielded his eyes, looking up at whatever it was looking down upon their group. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw a pair of menacing eyes staring right at him, and he instantly reached for his fomalhaut. Of course, then he remembered he'd left it back in Ivalice. Balthier sighed heavily and hung his head low. This was getting tiresome...

Sazh began to head back toward the others, yelling as he ran, "No, no, no! Not now!"

The fiend, a giant scorpion-creature, jumped down from above and landed in front of the sky pirate. Balthier nearly lost his balance when it swung its long tail at him, and he ducked the moment it moved. Cursing under his breath, he tried to cast a magick spell - _any_ spell - but he could just feel his magick energy leaving him. Just as the scorpion raised its claws toward the fallen pirate, Snow rushed forward and stood in front of him.

"Stand back!" he yelled to Balthier, getting into a battle stance with his fists held high.

"You're a fool!" the sky pirate exclaimed just as the others ran to them. "Do you honestly believe you can take that thing on?"

"Watch me!"

He ran forward, right at the creature, and summoned an unimaginable force of magick when he attacked it. Lightning and Vanille followed him, leaving the other three in the dust. Hope helped Balthier get to his feet, watching with wide eyes as the three fighters took on the fiend. Sazh sighed out of annoyance, shaking his head.

"Suicidal," he murmured. "Just suicidal..."

Balthier hated watching others fight a battle, especially when it was _his_ job to defend those in need; not the other way around! But he knew that all he would do was slow them down. It was their world, not his, and only they would know how to deal with any enemies they came across. All he could do was stand back and watch - waiting for them to end things on their own.

Lightning fought with a weapon he had never seen before in his life. A blade that was also a _gun_. The whole idea of a two-part weapon confused him to no end, but it seemed to make sense in a world like Cocoon. Perhaps once he returned to Ivalice, he'd invent the "gunblade" and make far more money than he would normally as a sky pirate. That is, unless there was a weapon in his world that was nearly the same as the gunblade.

The battle ended quicker than any of them expected, thanks to Vanille's never-ending magick spells. As soon as the fiend fell, she rushed to Balthier to see if he was all right. He wondered if she'd grown attached to him in the short time they'd been together. He didn't say anything to her as they watched the others return, but he rested his head on top of hers when she stood in front of him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. All that running around and fighting was finally getting to him, much to his dismay. Thankfully Vanille allowed him to lean on her, despite the confused look Hope was giving them.

"You're leaving?" he heard Snow ask as soon as they were all together. Both Sazh and Lightning had their backs turned, ready to head off and leave Serah's crystal behind.

"We want to help Serah, too," Sazh answered with a heavy sigh. "But without tools, we could be digging for days. The army's on our trail," he said to Lightning. "For now, we've got to keep moving. _For now_."

Snow scowled. "So I just abandon her and save myself?"

"What about your Focus?" Lightning asked, breaking her silence. "What happened to banding together and saving the world? Isn't that what you promised? Now you want to forget it all and die here?" She turned toward him, her eyes narrowed in clear anger. "Snow? You're nothing but talk." She brushed past him, and he clenched his fists as he watched her go.

"Lightning! I'll do whatever it takes. I'll finish this Focus..._and_ keep Serah safe. That's my promise!"

She turned around, an eyebrow raised. "Great job so far." And then she turned her back on him and walked away, leaving the rest of them in the dust.

Sazh began to follow her, but he looked to the rest of them, seeing if anyone else was going along. Snow shrugged his shoulders, and murmured, "Stay out of trouble."

"You too," the gunner answered, clapping a hand on Snow's shoulder before leaving to follow Lightning.

Vanille slid out from under Balthier's grasp and skipped over to the blond, smiling as usual. Snow looked between the three of them, trying his best to smile, too. "Get going," he said.

She nodded, and ran after the other two, not noticing Balthier's discomfort. Why were they all leaving? Hope began to walk after her, but for some reason, he stopped and turned around, facing the other two directly. He uneasily bit his lower lip, casting his eyes downward. "Snow..."

"Save it for next time, kiddo. You'll get left behind."

Watching as Hope's expression softened, Balthier began to wonder about the boy's hidden agenda. Something must have happened before, as he'd guessed when they had met, and Hope must have had something important to talk with the older man about. "But..." he started to say, but Snow cut him off again.

"It's okay, Hope. Light will take care of you." He forced himself to smile, either to comfort the boy...or himself - Balthier couldn't tell which. "We'll meet again."

"Yeah...Count on it." Hope quickly turned around and ran after the other three, still looking uneasy about whatever was on his mind.

And then Snow turned to the only one who was left behind: Balthier. The sky pirate stood there with his arms folded across his chest, a casual, yet tired smirk planted on his face. Raising an eyebrow, the tall blond asked, "Well? Aren't you going, too?"

"Someone has to keep an eye on you," Balthier answered, tilting his head to the side slightly.

Snow laughed weakly, nodding his head. "Uh, thanks...I guess."

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_Uh oh. Balthier actually chose to stay behind with his rival? This cannot be good..._

_Again, reviews make me a happy writer. They make me want to frantically continue this fic, despite how tired I may be. xD Let me know what you think! Do I need to improve on things, or is everything just perfect? :)_


	5. Eidolons and Their Masters

**Author's Note:** _Surprisingly, I like all the main characters in FF13. xD That's a first. Usually I hate one or two (*cough*Vaan and Penelo*cough*), but not this time! Haha. I've also noticed that Fang is, like, a female version of Balthier. o.O That made me laugh. A lot._

_My whole-hearted thanks goes again to __**Joshua Chung**__! You can review this story all you want. xD I won't get annoyed - I love reviews! (Hint hint!)_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Five

Eidolons and Their Masters

_I decided to stay with Snow for only one reason: if he claimed to be the hero of this story, no doubt I needed to stay by his side. We heroes must always stay together, right?_

"If you don't mind, I'd prefer to catch up on my rest," Balthier stated as he and Snow walked back to Serah's crystal. The others were long gone, and even if Balthier wanted to leave, it would take a while to catch up to them. He leaned up against one of the other crystals, shivering once he felt the cold against his back, while Snow picked up what he used earlier to unearth his fiancée's crystal.

"Is that why you stayed?" he asked with a half laugh.

"Partially. I had a feeling that if I stayed behind with the rest of them, I wouldn't get any time to sleep."

Snow shook his head. "Lightning stops for no one, not even herself. At least...that's what Serah told me."

Balthier glanced toward Serah's crystal, then back to the blond. "How did she...end up becoming a l'Cie?" he asked, not caring if he was prying into personal matters. He had to admit; he was curious.

"Serah?" He frowned, "She...never actually told me. I didn't ask, either. I was afraid that if I mentioned it, she'd get upset." He then began to hit the ice below the crystal again, repeatedly attempting to break it free. After a few moments, he stopped and sighed, turning around and looking at Balthier. "You go on and sleep. If anything happens, or if the Sanctum finds us, I'll wake you up."

"Fine by me." The sky pirate leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "Just don't get carried away, Ice. Tiring yourself out won't do either of us any good."

He heard Snow complain about calling him 'Ice' one last time, but then he let himself fall into his own dreams, relaxing at last.

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_"Sweep team to base. L'Cie spotted. I repeat: l'Cie spotted."_

Balthier tiredly opened his eyes when he heard the loud voice around him. "I'm no l'Cie," he murmured, out of habit. He could hear Snow still breaking through the crystal to free Serah, but as soon as he stood up he heard the loud voice again. An announcer of some sort.

"_Pulse l'Cie. Confirmed._"

And then he spotted the air ship flying above them, shining its lights down in order to find them. Balthier scowled when he ran to Snow, wondering if the other man had even noticed what was going on. The Sanctum had found them, despite their efforts to evade their grasp. They needed to leave, with or with out Serah's crystal. Just as the sky pirate reached out to touch the blond's shoulder, Snow stood up straight and angrily looked up toward the air ship.

"You gonna help me, or what?" he yelled, tightly holding onto the disfigured pipes in his hand. He nearly swung them at Balthier, forcing the pirate duck down to avoid getting knocked unconscious again.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing, Ice!"

Sanctum soldiers jumped down from the airship, using teleport stone-like tools to aid them in their landing. The rushed toward them, their guns aimed at the pair, and surrounded them. Balthier hung his head low, sighing heavily. He watched as more soldiers arrived, standing alongside the cliffs of crystal with their weapons at the ready. Things were not going as planned...

"_Commencing clean-up protocol._"

Snow smirked. "Clean-up?" he murmured sternly, "Let me help." Lifting the pipes above his head and nearly hitting Balthier again, he threw them forcefully at one of the soldiers, knocking them to the ground. He then flung himself off the crystal's edge at another soldier, tackling them to the ground. Rolling his eyes, Balthier jumped down after him just as more soldiers arrived to fight them.

While Snow handled most of the soldiers, the sky pirate closed his eyes and began to cast a bravery magick spell, knowing that he wouldn't fight their enemies bare handed willingly. As soon as he could feel the spell's effects take hold of him, he ducked down before one of the men could swing their blade at him, and he knocked them off of their feet by kicking the back of their legs. Balthier turned to the rest of the soldiers with a wide grin, adrenaline pulsing through his veins.

He grabbed a hold of one of their guns, hitting the man's neck with it as he turned around. But just as Balthier turned around, one of the soldiers swung a rope around his neck and pulled him back. Nearly choking, he fell against the soldier and clawed his hands at the rope in an attempt to break free. He shut his eyes, biting his lip until it almost bled. This was not good, he told himself, feeling light-headed. He wasn't meant to go down in a short battle like that! Just as he felt his knees go weak, the soldier behind him was knocked to the ground. Snow caught the sky pirate before he could fall as well, nearly laughing as the brunette tried to catch his breath.

"Not used to fighting hand-to-hand combat?" Snow asked, punching one of the soldiers in the face before they could get to Balthier, who knelt on the ground clutching his chest.

"That one just got lucky," he panted, standing up behind the taller man.

The Sanctum's reinforcements surrounded them after they dispatched most of the ones from before, and Balthier uneasily took a step back, eying all the guns aimed at them. And then, as he looked ahead of him, Snow suddenly fell to his knees, groaning. The l'Cie brand on his arm began to glow as soon as he fell, turning light-blue and shimmering brightly.

"Snow...!" Balthier called, taking a step forward to him. What was going on?

The soldiers around them took steps back, nervously turning to one another as, what Balthier guessed it was, a summoning circle appeared in front of Snow. The air suddenly became colder, so much that Balthier could see his warm breath in front of him. From the swirling ice-like magick appeared what looked like two women, turning their backs to the two men behind them and facing the soldiers. Balthier pulled Snow to his feet, staggering backwards as they watched the women summon an unimaginable force of ice-wind, attacking and killing all the soldiers around them. Then, slowly, they turned to face Balthier and Snow with what seemed like seductive smiles.

"Espers?" Balthier stated, once again wishing he wasn't weaponless. He weakly narrowed his eyes from where he stood behind Snow, rubbing his hands together to stay warm in the cold air. The wind was continuously blowing around them, and it was hard for the both of them to stay focused on their surroundings.

"I've heard of these! _Eidolons_," Snow answered, shielding his eyes with a gloved hand as he stared at the two women. "They appear before a l'Cie when they question their mission, their Focus. This is a test to prove my worth!"

So they weren't espers, as he'd first thought. They were similar, but a hume could control multiple espers; not just one, like l'Cie. Balthier rubbed his head, finding it hard to remember all this new information. He looked up when something up on one of the cliffs caught his eye. A woman with wild hair was watching them, holding a red-colored lance in her hands. Balthier shook his head, turning his attention back to the task at hand.

"Keep your head up, Balthier! This battle's gonna be harder than it looks!"

The Eidolons raised their hands, summoning yet another strong gust of wind. This time, it was only directed at Balthier. He was pushed off his feet, knocking the wind out of him as he fell against the crystal wall. Snow called out to him, but his voice was drowned out by the wind whipping around them. Balthier forced himself to open his eyes, despite the throbbing pain in his head. It seemed as if he was unwanted in this battle and perhaps the Eidolons only attacked the one who summoned them.

He got to his feet, picking up the disfigured pipes that Snow had been using earlier to unearth Serah's crystal. Even if the summons didn't want him to join the fight, he couldn't let Snow take them on alone. He rushed forward, throwing the pipes at the Eidolons as soon as he stood right beside the blond. It barely scratched them, and as soon as they recovered, the two women turned their gaze upon the sky pirate.

"Balthier, get out of here!" Snow yelled, grabbing his arm. "They don't want you here! Get lost!"

"Don't interrupt me! I'm thinking!" Balthier snarled, pulling his arm away from the other man's grasp. "You take them on while I distract them!"

The blond nodded, understanding what he meant. Balthier stepped back and closed his eyes, getting ready to cast a lure spell on himself. Once he was ready, he rushed past Snow toward the Eidolons, reminding himself to demand thanks from Snow after saving his foolish behind again. The women turned their gaze upon him, and once he met their eyes Balthier began to regret his plan. Letting himself get tossed around like a rag-doll was not one of his best ideas, but it was worth a shot. He just hoped that he would live long enough to let Snow tame his summons.

_I was certain that marked the first time a leading man had allowed himself to become a mere distraction._

Balthier shut his eyes as another gust of wind forced him back against the crystallized cliff, wincing when his head came in contact with it. He was running out of magick again, so he couldn't keep on healing himself; not to mention how tired and dizzy he was feeling. But he needed to keep the Eidolons distracted, at least long enough for Snow to take them down. But, he wasn't certain how much longer he could take the mindless torture.

Part of him wanted to yell at Snow, to tell him to hurry it up, but he wasn't sure if he could even yell at that time. Slowly getting to his feet, Balthier breathed heavily as he looked upon the women, squinting his eyes to focus on the battle. He could see Snow somewhere in the distance, but the other man was far too busy to even notice that his comrade was still some-what alive.

At last, the Eidolons bowed their heads to Snow as Balthier rushed to his side.

"_We are Shiva, and we are in your debt, l'Cie_."

They retreated, fading away with the wind as Snow fell on his back, clutching his arm in pain. Balthier fell to his knees, finally giving into the weakness that had been threatening him throughout the battle. Through his daze, he could hear footsteps coming closer with each passing second, until the person spoke.

"The Twin Sisters," the woman stated as Balthier looked up at her. She was the one he had seen just as the Eidolons appeared! "I've got to hand it to you for taking 'em down, but don't gloat just yet. Might come a time you wish you'd let 'em end it, and made things easy." She held her lance against Balthier's neck, tilting her head slightly as their eyes met.

Snow sat up, recovering as his brand ceased to glow. "More of you, huh?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes weakly.

"They're l'Cie," she said to the soldiers that surrounded them with their guns aimed at the ready. "Take them."

"Back off...!"

She rolled her eyes, kneeling down in front of the blond and touching his chin. "You want to keep breathing? Shut up and come quiet." Before he could say a thing, she hit him on the neck with her elbow, and Balthier only watched as Snow fell to the ground, unconscious. The woman sighed heavily as she stood, turning her attention to the other man. "How 'bout you?"

Balthier narrowed his eyes. "I am no l'Cie," he said, like the many times before.

"Hm, that so?" She smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Why're you with him, then?"

"I needed assistance."

She stared at him for a moment, studying him, and then she turned her back to him. "I wouldn't get mixed in with the likes of him, if I were you. It's dangerous to be around l'Cie."

A man, a soldier who didn't wear his helmet like the others, approached her. He acknowledged the crystallized girl up on the hill behind them, "Hey, Fang, what about her?"

"I'm sure blondie will still want her to be with him at all times. Take her, too," the woman - Fang, she was called - answered.

Standing up, Balthier sternly blocked their path toward Serah's crystal, remembering his promise to Snow: to watch over Serah. Fang's smirk widened, despite the glare she was receiving from the sky pirate.

"Feisty, ain't you?" she asked, "Don't worry, we won't hurt her or blondie." She folded her arms across her chest as Balthier relaxed, still keeping his eyes on her. "Since you're no l'Cie, you're free to go...That is, unless you're looking for a way out of this hell."

**

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**

_I told her everything I knew about the l'Cie that left Snow and I behind. This woman, Fang, was a l'Cie - just like them. There was something...different about her. Yet I still told her everything, including about who I was, and where I was from._

Balthier walked side-by-side with Fang, behind the soldiers that were dragging Snow to their airship. He eyed Fang curiously, wondering what had forced her to join a l'Cie's enemy, the Sanctum. The clothes she wore reminded him of a what a native to Dalmasca would wear, like the people who lived in the small villages in the Estersand. And, her clothes also reminded him of Vanille - she'd worn something fairly similar.

His eyes went to her l'Cie brand. It wasn't like Snow's brand at all; it was white, almost as if it were burned. Fang noticed that he was staring at her and half-grinned, tilting her head slightly.

"Like what you see?" she asked, teasing him. He turned his gaze away, looking back toward the airship, and she laughed. "I'm kiddin'. As I said before, you don't want to get mixed in with l'Cie business. Nothing but death waiting for you there."

"I'm afraid I've already gotten myself too far into this mess," Balthier answered quietly, smirking. "I suppose I'm just as guilty as they, then."

Fang shrugged her shoulders. "As long as you stick with me, nothing can hurt you. These soldiers are under my command, just a bunch of l'Cie hunters."

"You're hunting l'Cie?"

"I'm looking for someone. Someone that I lost a while ago," she explained, "In order to find her, I've decided to help out these fools all I can."

Balthier raised an eyebrow. "So you turn in any l'Cie you come across that aren't who you're looking for to PSICOM?"

"No, not those idiots. You can't trust them at all." She shook her head, stretching out her arms as they walked. "I'll be taking you and blondie to someone you _can_ trust."

He nodded, and the two of them watched as Snow started to wake up. The first thing he saw was Serah's crystal being taken onto the ship, having been unearthed by the soldiers before leaving. Just as Balthier expected, the blond started yelling out to her and trying to break free from the soldiers holding him back. Fang sighed heavily, annoyed, and approached them.

"Stand down," she said to the soldier who had a gun pointed at Snow.

The soldier nodded, and then headed toward the ship. The others began to lead Snow away after him, and that was when the blond l'Cie caught sight of Balthier standing behind Fang. He narrowed his eyes in both confusion and anger.

"Balthier?" he asked, "But - why are you helping them?"

The sky pirate only smirked, almost like Fang, and tilted his head to the side. "Shouldn't you be off saving your girl, Ice?" he stated, and watched as Snow was led away onto the ship. Fang sighed again, turning toward him.

"C'mon, hop to it. We'll meet with Cid Raines, and you can explain your situation to him," she told him, "He'll help you out."

Balthier flinched at the sound of that name. "_Cid_?" he exclaimed, remembering his father - Doctor Cid. That name wasn't common in Ivalice, but was it a common name in Cocoon?

"Don't worry," she assured him, noticing his sudden discomfort. "He's on our side."

**

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_Gah. Fang~ Marry me, please!_

_Anywhoo, review. Please? :3 Pretty please, with sugar on top?_


	6. He Never Dies

**Author's Note:** _I'm hoping that this writing streak of mine doesn't end too soon! Thank goodness I planned out most of these scenes a while ago, or else I'd be stuck watching more cut scenes (not that I'd mind)._

_My thanks go to __**Joshua Chung**__ and __**niconugget**__ for reviewing chapter 5! You guys are the best. :D I'd totally say that I would marry you, but then I'd sound like a creeper...Ahaha._

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Six

He Never Dies

_"Balthier, do you understand what exactly it is you're doing?"_

_"Ah, princess! No need to worry. I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what the say about the leading man? He never dies."_

Balthier turned over onto his side, laying on the floor of the cell he and Snow were sent to once they arrived on the airship. The corner of his mouth twitched weakly as he slept, his dream becoming more vivid with each passing moment.

_"Please, Balthier! You mustn't die!"_

Someone was shaking him by the shoulder, but he ignored them. He could still hear _her_ voice in his ears, calling out to him from a far away distance.

_"Please, Balthier...Come back."_

"Princess...?" he whispered, his voice cracking. Again, someone shook his shoulder to wake him up. But he didn't want to wake up - _she_ was still calling for him.

_"Balthier...!"_

Balthier's eyes shot open as he sat up from the floor, raising his arm to hit whoever had been trying to wake him up. Snow grabbed the sky pirate's wrist before the hand could hit his face, staring with surprised eyes at him. "Woah!" he exclaimed, watching as Balthier moved away from him. "It's okay! No need to have a fit."

The sky pirate leaned his head back against the wall of the cell, rubbing his temple as he closed his eyes.

"You were talking in your sleep. Something about a...a princess, or something." Snow paused, watching the other man's expression suddenly turn cold. "Wanna talk about it?"

"...No."

"Uh...Okay, then." The blond l'Cie awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, glancing in the other direction. "Sorry I asked?"

_I knew that he was only trying to help me, trying to understand what I was feeling at that time. No one would be able to understand how I felt. This was their world, not mine. As far as I was concerned, Ivalice was naught but the past._

"I was just going to tell you that Fang wants to talk with you," Snow explained, standing up from the floor. "Said we're almost there, or something. You seem to know her better than I do, with you being the Sanctum's new aid in capturing l'Cie."

"I am not their aid," Balthier answered, glaring at the other man as he moved his hand away from his eyes. "Nor am I _your_ ally. I'm still on my own in this mess, despite what you may think."

"You think you're alone?"

Smiling sarcastically, he nodded. "Yes, I do. What did you think of me when we first met? When I casted magick in front of you?"

Snow blinked slowly. "I, uh...thought you were a l'Cie. Only l'Cie can cast magick."

"That's what the boy thought, too...And Lightning, after she recognized me. Said I was as damned as the rest of you." Balthier sighed, standing up. He was bothered by the fact how even though he was tall himself, Snow towered over him by five inches, at least. "And then, those bloody soldiers have called me a l'Cie multiple times. _Everyone_ thinks I am one of you, just because I am not from this world."

"What's so bad about that? I mean, that just means you'll get to stay with us-"

"The only reason I followed the lot of you around is because of what your girl told me," he answered, folding his arms across his chest.

"Wait, what? You...you talked to _Serah_?"

Balthier sighed again and nodded. "After all of you were turned into l'Cie, she spoke with me." He glanced to the side for a moment, then back to Snow. "Tell me, what exactly _is_ your Focus? What task did that fal'Cie give you?"

"You heard us talking about it before: Serah told us to save Cocoon. I'll bet my life that's what we're meant to do."

"Hm. And that's exactly what she told me, as well. She said I'm here to save your world...Once I do that, I'm free to go."

Snow suspiciously raised an eyebrow. "So, that's why you're still with us. Because you've got a task of your own to follow. Are you..._sure_ you're not a l'Cie, like us?"

Balthier rolled his eyes, turning away from the taller man. "I'm whole-heartedly certain that I'm still hume. Even Serah told me that." He knocked on the door of the cell, and one of the soldiers opened it for him. Fang was impatiently waiting for him out there, her arms folded tightly across her chest as she leaned against the wall.

"Wait, Balthier! Tell me one more thing before you go," Snow said to him, stepping forward. When the sky pirate boredly looked back at him, he asked, "Why were you in this cell with me when you're not even their prisoner? You're helping them, not me! So why were you in here?"

"You talk too much, Ice," Balthier stated in a monotone voice, walking out of the cell. The door was closed behind him just as he heard Snow yelling to call him by his actual name. Fang smirked, stepping away from the wall and toward the sky pirate.

"Have a nice nap?" she asked, walking with him out of the prison-room.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not particularly, no...Those cells aren't very comfortable. You may want to change things around, since you'll be capturing more l'Cie, eventually."

"That's only if you and your friend don't give us the information we need. If you're not useful to us, you'll be executed once we find those other rogue l'Cie."

"Executed? Tch. That's not the way for the leading man to leave..."

She raised an eyebrow at him, then pushed open the door to the stairway, leading up to the main control room of the airship. The soldiers in the room left as soon as they walked in, and she turned toward him once they were alone. She leaned against one of the large chairs, eying him carefully. Balthier looked about the room, taking notice that the controls for the airship were much like the ones back in Ivalice. If he were to hijack them and take control of the ship, he could probably find the others before they got into too much trouble and were executed. But, then again, that would only get him killed even faster.

"You wanted to speak with me about something?" he asked, turning his attention back to Fang.

"About what you told me before. How you're from some weird world that isn't this one," she replied, putting her hands on her hips. "The only reason the idiotic soldiers aren't making sure you're in a cell like your friend is because I haven't said a thing about who you really are."

"So you want more information about my world, then?"

She smirked again, almost mirroring his own. "There's gotta be some reason you're here with the rest of us mad folk. I'm only curious, that's all."

"Don't you know what curiosity killed?"

"Yeah, yeah, it killed the cat - I know." She tilted her head to the side, watching him walk around looking at things. "What's the last thing you remember in your world, before you came here?"

Balthier stopped walking, narrowing his eyes as he tried to remember. But the thing was...he _couldn't_ remember. "I...It seems to have slipped my mind," he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "We were...in a battle? No - _going_ to a battle...Why can't I remember?"

"Got a case of amnesia? You did hit your head a lot turning that battle against the Eidolons..."

"No...It's not that," he told her, frowning. Something didn't feel right. Why was that part in his memory blank? "We, my comrades and I, were on our way to fight the man who threatened to destroy the princess' city...I remember piloting the _Strahl_ there, and then getting ready for the battle. But...The rest is blank. It's just..." he sighed, "Gone."

Fang studied him for a moment, then turned her attention toward the windows of the air ship. "Hm, looks like we're ready to go. We'll talk more later 'bout your _memory_ problems, pirate. For now, we've got more things to worry about."

**

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The Sanctum soldiers had brought Snow, once again in handcuffs, up to the observation deck of the air ship, and as soon as he was beside Balthier, he made a point of whispering to him "my name is _Snow,_ not _Ice_". The sky pirate merely smirked, and walked over to Fang, who was watching the much larger air ship come closer to them. Balthier whistled, admiring it.

"What's she called?" he asked, glancing over at Fang.

"The _Lindblum_," she answered, "That's Cid Raines' ship, and his pride and joy." She looked back at Snow as he approached the two of them. "Couldn't run if you wanted to."

He grinned, looking at the air ship, too. "Well, look at you! Wonder what's under the hood of that thing?"

Fang folded her arms across her chest, giving him an annoyed look. "Keep your pants on. You'll get a peek soon enough. Just try and behave."

"I'm not gonna make any promises..."

"Cheeky boy, aren't ya? We'll see how long that lasts." She looked back over to Balthier, and asked, "You'll be on your best behavior, I take it? Being the gentleman that you are, and all."

Balthier raised an eyebrow. "As long as you're not lying to me about that man you're taking us to see..." he said.

She grinned at him, lightly hitting his chin with her fist. "Would I lie to a pretty face like yours?" she teased, winking at him once.

He sighed heavily, shaking his head. What sort of mess had he gotten himself into now?

**

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Once they were on the _Lindblum_, Snow was led ahead of Balthier and Fang by a line of soldiers. When Balthier uneasily asked if anything bad was going to happen to the blond l'Cie, she told him that they don't kill l'Cie. He found that hard to believe, seeing how the Sanctum soldiers had brutally treated him during the Purge. But, he had no choice but to believe her. For now.

A soldier approached Fang, and said to her, "He's come to meet you." She only nodded in response, and the man fell back in line with the others.

A man dressed in military armor walked toward them, and Balthier guessed that he was Cid Raines, they one they were there to meet. Raines extended his hand to Snow, and greeted him. "You must be Snow. Cid Raines. Brigadier general of the fleet."

Snow only scowled at him. "Hi, Cid. Thanks for the escort," he sarcastically said.

Raines merely laughed weakly, lowering his hand back down to his side. "Apologies. I just had a few questions to ask you."

As Fang walked up beside the general, Balthier stepped closer to Snow, eyes narrowed. Something caught his eye, and when he turned around he saw a small group of soldiers leading Serah's crystal down the hall, away from them. Raines saw this, too.

"If it works like they tell us, that means she must have completed her Focus," he stated, watching the soldiers leave.

Snow immediately stepped forward, yelling out Serah's name, but Fang held him back by resting her forearm against his neck. She shook her head, as if she was telling him to stay put. Balthier touched Snow's arm as the taller man stepped back, and warned him, "Easy."

"Fulfilled her Focus as a tainted Pulse l'Cie, that is," Raines continued, ignoring all that had just happened.

"You think she was out to hurt Cocoon?" Snow demanded, growling.

"I'd hardly be alone if I did. When it comes to Pulse, and any other world..." He glanced toward Balthier, then back to Snow. "Who can claim to know anything? I need the truth, for the sake of Cocoon."

The blond l'Cie's scowl tightened. "The sake of Cocoon," he repeated, "We're from Cocoon! Shipping us out, Purging innocent people..." When he said that, Balthier looked at him, feeling as if it were about him, now. "That's how you lend a hand?"

"Those are the Sanctum's methods. The public fears what it doesn't know. It's grown tired of living in constant terror of these threats from the world below." He sighed, "So, the Sanctum devised a plan for you l'Cie, and the outsider."

Balthier raised an eyebrow. So, he was called the 'outsider', now? Better than being named a l'Cie...

"I'll bet," Snow scoffed.

"A public execution," Raines replied, keeping his expression calm and collected. Snow flinched, and Balthier touched his arm again, keeping his eyes on the general. "The people don't know any better. Strike down the phantoms before their eyes, and they sleep like babes."

"No!" Snow yelled, breaking free from the soldiers. He began to charge toward Raines, but before he could reach him Fang stepped forward and knocked him down to the floor with one kick. Glaring at her, Balthier took a step forward and stood in front of Snow, but she only smirked at him.

"The Sanctum has intelligence on the other l'Cie already," Raines said with the smallest of smirks. "It's only a matter of time."

The blond l'Cie glared up at him. "You'll never catch them..."

The general nodded. "I see. We'll need your help them, won't we?" And he left, turning his back on them and walking away in silence. On the floor, Snow cast his eyes downward and murmured something under his breath that Balthier couldn't hear clearly.

Fang walked over to them, and nudged the fallen man with her foot. "Get up," she commanded, her voice stern and cold. When Snow didn't answer her, she waved a hand to the soldiers standing around them. They instantly raised their guns on command and aimed them at Balthier, who flinched once he realized what was happening. "If you don't do as Raines says," she continued, "we'll end your friend's life, too. He's not from here, so he must be a danger to us all. Sent by the fal'Cie to destroy Cocoon."

Snow stood as quickly as he could, and snarled at her, "Leave him alone! Balthier has done nothing!"

"No," Balthier stated, and everyone turned to look at him. "She's right, actually. The fal'Cie are the ones who sent me to this world, to aid their pitiful pets, the l'Cie. Wherever Snow is taken, take me there, as well. I'm just as damned as he."

Fang smiled darkly. "That so?" She waved her hand again, and the soldiers back away and lowered their guns. "Take them to the brig. I need to talk with Raines about all this madness."

As she turned away and left, a soldier came over to Balthier and put handcuffs on him, careful to avoid the glare coming from Snow. Then, while they were being led away, Snow looked at the sky pirate with a confused expression. But, the other man only smirked, a hidden agenda in the making in his mind.

_What I had told them was not the truth. I knew that the fal'Cie weren't the ones who had brought me there to Cocoon, but that didn't mean I would admit my lie to any one. I could trust no one._

**

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Snow sat down on the bench in their small cell, keeping his eyes focused on the floor while Balthier leaned up against the cell bars. "So, you really are another one of the fal'Cie pets," he murmured, glancing up at the sky pirate. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Revealing my task to all those soldiers and Fang was the only way I could guarantee that we wouldn't be separated," Balthier explained, only telling more lies. "If I hadn't said a thing, surely they would have executed me with a single hint of resistance."

"You...You're a real surprise sometimes, you know?" The blond looked down slightly, frowning. "Do you know where they're taking Serah?"

"I doubt they'll do anything to harm her." He looked toward the soldiers guarding the door to the main hall. "Raines seems like he's on your side."

"How can you tell?"

Balthier sighed, casting his eyes downward. "I used to know a man named Cid in my world. My father, though he allied himself with the wrong people, was a good man. Foolish and mad, but a damn good man." He straightened his standing position and looked over to Snow for the first time since arriving in the cell. "If we stay on Raines' good side, we'll be able to make our escape and get you back to the others."

Snow smirked. "Got a plan already?"

"That woman - Fang. She seems to be after more than 'hunting l'Cie'. When I told her that I wasn't one, she said that I was free to go. Now, what kind of loyal ally to the Sanctum would allow a man not of their world run free?"

"This group isn't part of the Sanctum, though. They're the Guardian Corps, the same group that Lightning was a part of."

Balthier nodded. "Exactly. We might be able to convince Fang to help us. She's looking for someone - another l'Cie, by the sound of it."

"The only l'Cie we know are me, Lightning, Sazh, Hope and Vanille." Snow paused, thinking for a moment. He perked up and grinned weakly when he realized something. "Balthier, earlier you said that you weren't on either side. Now, you're saying that we're going to be working together to get out of this mess."

"If you're going after the same thing as I, there's no point in being solitary." The sky pirate smirked in return. "Looks like you and I have ourselves a new partnership."

Snow stood up, pounding his fists together and smiling. "Guess I'm stuck with you now."

_The leading man and the Hero. What a pair we were..._

The two of them heard a noise outside of the cell bars, and turned to see Fang casually leaning against them. She greeted them with a smirk, and then stated, "Come with me."

**

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"Do you know them?"

They were brought to Raines, up in the command deck of the air ship, and as soon as they walked over to him he turned on the large screen. It was a surviellence taping of an area that neither Balthier or Snow recognized, but they knew who the two people were on the tape. Lightning was standing nearby an elevator, while Hope was sitting on the ground. They appeared to be talking about something, by the looks of it.

"Lightning!" Snow exclaimed, flinching.

"The Sanctum has ordered that they are to be executed immediately, once they set foot into Palumpolum." Raines turned off the television, turning toward the three standing behind him. "So, it's now your turn to save them, before they're killed."

"They must have left Sazh and Vanille behind," Balthier murmured, resting a hand on the wall beside him and leaning against it. "Knowing Lightning, she must have been going at a quicker pace than they wanted."

Fang narrowed her eyes in curiosity, staring at the sky pirate. "...Did you say _Vanille_?" she asked, her voice surprisingly quiet.

Snow blinked in confusion. "You know her?"

The sky pirate returned her gaze. "She's the one you're looking for." When Fang nodded, he answered, "Then we'll take you to her. All you have to do, then, it help us save Lightning and Hope."

"Sounds like a plan to me," she agreed, a sudden look relief about her.

Raines looked back toward the blank screen, his eyes some-what focused on nothing. "You don't have much time until they launch the attack. Rest up, and Fang will come find you when it's time."

Balthier and Snow were brought to a large hangar room, and Fang had gone off to finalize the plan with Raines and his second-in-command, Rygdea. While they waited by the smaller air ships, Balthier dozed off without even knowing it, and when he opened his eyes not too long later, he found himself using Snow's shoulder as a pillow. He quickly moved away once he had completely woken up, hearing Fang speaking to the two of them.

"Okay!" she excitedly exclaimed, "Time to hunt some l'Cie!"

Snow stood up from the bench he and Balthier had been sitting on, the sky pirate standing up not too long after him. "So what, we just find 'em and that's that?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"Don't get all hot and bothered."

Fang turned away to talk with one of the soldiers that had approached her, and while she was distracted Snow pulled out a tear drop crystal from his pocket, staring at it with a longing expression on his face. His curiosity getting the best of him, Balthier tilted his head slightly and walked over to him. "Snow," he said, and the other man looked at him in surprise. "Remind me why you were trying to make peace with the fal'Cie, like you told me earlier. Serah was as damned as you are now, so why go back to the thing that changed her?"

"I...I went to the fal'Cie hoping to help her. But, I was too late," he replied, somberly.

Fang came up behind him all of the sudden, slapping him on the back as if to snap him back to reality. She winced and shook her hand, cursing quietly. "I knew you were hard-headed, but..."

"That was - ow!" Snow rubbed the back of his neck, narrowing his eyes as Balthier stifled a laugh.

"Snap to it! We're rolling out, now."

The sky pirate recovered from his short fit of laughter and folded his arms across his chest. "'Hunting l'Cie', right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The loud speaker over-head answered his question for her. "_This is our chance! Do not let the l'Cie escape! Move out!_"

After the announcement, two soldiers that wore different uniforms than the Guardian Corps approached Fang and saluted her. She suspiciously raised an eyebrow, turning her attention fully to them as Snow looked at the guns they were holding. Balthier noticed how tense he had suddenly become, and nudged the blond in the side.

"We have orders to arrest the outsider," one of the men told Fang.

She stared at them in disbelief, scowling. "What?" she nearly yelled, "Who the _hell_ ordered-"

The other soldier answered her, "Lieutenant Colonel Yaag Rosch of the PSICOM division."

Hearing that name, Snow stepped between the two soldiers and Balthier, as if to protect the other man. Fang poked a finger at one of the soldier's chests, snarling, "Tell Rosch he can look elsewhere and shove his orders where the sun don't shine! This man knows nothing!"

"On the contrary," Balthier interrupted, walking past Snow. "If his master wants to know about Ivalice, then who else to call for other than the leading man?"

"They'll kill you!" Snow yelled as he tried to stop his comrade, but Fang held him back by grabbing his arm. He watched as Balthier was handcuffed, not even wincing when the metal cuffs were tightly placed on his wrists. Without another word, he was led away by the two soldiers down the stairs and to another air ship. "Balthier-"

Fang hissed at him, "Quiet! We'll rescue him later. Right now we need to get those l'Cie, got it?"

Snow pushed past her angrily, heading toward the hover-car they were to take to the city. She shook her head, muttering something under her breath before joining him.

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_Uh oh. What does Yaag Rosch want with Balthier? This cannot be good..._


	7. Nothing But The Outsider

**Author's Note:** _This chapter is my favorite so far. :D Yaaay.  
_

_**Joshua Chung**__, you never cease to make me laugh. :] I'm always looking forward to your reviews! Thank you bunches._

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Seven

Nothing But The Outsider

_I only allowed myself to be taken away only so the other two could go and rescue Lightning and Hope without being found by PSICOM. I was, once again, the distraction..._

Wincing as he was pushed onto some sort of platform-ship by the two soldiers, Balthier narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of a man standing before him. Right away he knew it was Yaag Rosch, the man who had ordered his apparent arrest. He had sleak blue hair tied back into a ponytail, and he wore armor different than what Raines war. Around them, air ships flew past toward the city - to where the l'Cie were, or so he had heard.

"The man from Ivalice," Rosch said to Balthier once the sky pirate was pulled to his feet. "We've been looking for you for quite some time now."

Balthier scowled, but then put on his normal facade: a cocky smirk. "Tell me how your orders out rank that of Raines," he answered, "Is it because you're under the command of the fal'Cie?" One of the soldiers whacked him on the back of the neck, telling him to watch his mouth around the commander. He didn't even flinch from the pain, amazingly.

The colonel turned around, away from Balthier and the soldiers. "So you know the truth. Then you should understand why I do what I must to protect Cocoon. If the l'Cie run through the land and avoid the Sanctum, the fal'Cie will end the lives of our people. We must capture the l'Cie and end their reign of terror in order to gain back our freedom."

"The l'Cie are not trying to destroy your world," he retorted, staring down at his bound hands. "They're just like you and I: humes caught in the tempest of the gods."

"So you say."

The soldiers dragged Balthier further out onto the platform-ship, ignoring his protests. A loud voice sounded around them, and images appeared on a large screen on one of the buildings above the courtyard. "_In a recently convened emergency conference, the Sanctum announced that the fugitive l'Cie have been located. The military plans to apprehend the l'Cie and carry out a public execution. These images coming to you live in Palumpolum."_

As the ship moved downward, Balthier saw the images of both Lightning and Hope on the large screen. They were still alive! He quickly looked down below the ship, pushing away from the soldiers who had their hands on him, and glanced around for any familiar faces. And then, he saw her. _Lightning._

She stood close by Hope, a hand placed on his shoulder in case she needed to defend him. As soon as she looked up toward the ships and the soldiers rushing toward them, she saw Balthier. Their eyes met, and she immediately pulled out her gunblade once she saw that he was the Sanctum's prisoner. He wanted to tell her to not even bother trying to save him, but it was too late.

"These are l'Cie," Rosch announced to his soldiers and their air ships as he stepped forward. "Show no mercy. They aren't people - they're targets!"

Balthier scowled, forcing himself to look away from Lightning and Hope, and stormed up to the other man. "You cannot just kill them!" he yelled, ignoring the guns pointed at his back. "At least let them stand trial! What are they even _guilty_ of?"

"They are nothing but slaves to the fal'Cie. And you," Rosch turned around, pressing his sword against Balthier's neck. "You are nothing but the outsider, chosen by your own gods to destroy Cocoon!"

Flinching, Balthier felt himself go weak. He fell to his knees in front of the man, hanging his head low as he found himself lost in a daze. He could hear gun shots around him, whether they were from Lightning or the soldiers, and he knew that something about all that was happening around him wasn't _right_. He shut his eyes, blocking out all the yelling and the noises above and below him. Then, breaking him from his daze, there was a loud explosion from above. Balthier looked up immediately when he felt a cold wind brush past him, and his eyes widened as he watched ice erupt from the middle of the court yard, freezing men and air ships alike.

He ducked down before some of the ice could hit him, falling from the sky, but the soldiers pulled him to his feet and pushed him closer to the edge of the ship. Balthier wondered if they were planning on _pushing_ him off if he continued to go against what they ordered of him. Just as he thought about jumping off himself, bullets whizzed past his ear and hit the soldiers standing around he and Rosch. Over the gun shots he heard the engine of a motorcycle, and right when he looked toward the sound a bullet went into his shoulder.

He winced from the pain for only a moment, but he quickly turned his attention back to the battle below them. Lightning was taking down the last of the soldiers in the court yard, so obviously she was handling the situation well enough on her own. Balthier nearly smirked at that thought, but Rosch's voice interrupted him.

"Move!" the man yelled to the last soldier standing. "Take us up!"

The platform-ship began to rise back into the air, above the buildings, and Balthier could only watch as Lightning tried to run after them. Not once did he look away from her, not until she a motorcycle blocked her path and distracted them both. Then, he was too far up in the sky to see anything else.

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As soon as they were away from the chaos, Balthier was yet again pushed onto an air ship, this time he found himself dragged to the cock pit of a much smaller one. He nearly collapsed to the floor, wincing from the wound in his shoulder, but he managed to keep his composure. He wouldn't act weak in front of someone who had the power to kill him in a matter of seconds.

Rosch was pacing back and forth as the soldier, the only one to survive the attack, took control of the ship and flew it into the air. "Those l'Cie..." he muttered to himself, scowling.

"Tougher than you thought, hm?" Balthier asked, smirking widely despite the pain he was feeling.

The colonel narrowed his eyes when he turned to face the sky pirate, holding his sword to his neck again. "If he didn't need you, I would have killed you with those l'Cie! You're just as damned as they." He stormed off, walking down the stairs as two Sanctum soldiers grabbed Balthier and led him away. It was then that he blacked out, drifting off into his weakness-induced sleep.

_Everything - that world, the madness of its people...It was far too much for me to take in. Even someone such as myself couldn't handle the truth._

Eventually he came to, but he was no longer in the air ship from before. Trapped in yet another cell, Balthier attempted to look at his surroundings through blurred vision. He touched a hand to his bleeding shoulder, his upper lip curling in disgust when he felt the warmth on his fingers. Leaning his head back against the wall, he wondered if he was going to spend the rest of his days in that cell, doomed to die on a world not his own. He thought about Fran, and what she would think of him dying in such a pitiful way. Death, by stray bullet? That was a foolish way to go...

"I should find a way out on my own," he muttered to himself, "Then again, my magick's nearly gone after all that fighting. I can't even _heal_ myself..."

He laid down on the cold floor, curling up and pressing a hand against his bullet wound. Another moment of rest sounded pleasant to him at that time, and he figured that was all he _could_ do then. He would wait until the time was right to make his escape. If he was lucky, perhaps he'd catch up to Lightning and Hope, maybe even find that cheery girl Vanille again...

Someone was yelling outside the prison cell, and soon after he heard a body hit the floor. But, he shrugged it off and and turned over onto his side, closing his eyes. A few moments later, he heard a voice; a voice he surprisingly was glad to hear.

"They're like a bunch of flies! Don't stop comin' till you're down."

Balthier opened his eyes, wondering if he was hearing voices due to his current weakness. He could have sworn that he had heard Fang complaining...

"We need to find him. He could be dead by now," replied another voice; this time it was Lightning.

Well, that was odd. He must have been dreaming - Lightning wouldn't come rescue him. Wasn't she chasing after the Sanctum officials, or some such?

"Fine, fine. Let's hurry it up then!"

He could hear them more clearly, and as each moment passed their foot steps came closer and closer, until he saw the shadows of Lightning and Fang upon the wall in front of him. How did they find him so quickly? Unless, he'd been sleeping for longer than it seemed. "It's about time someone showed up," Balthier stated, his voice hoarse as he turned around to face them. "Where have you two been...?"

Fang approached him first, putting her hands on her hips as she looked down on him. "What happened to you?" she asked, "I leave you alone for a few hours, and look what happens!"

"Got shot. By you," he told her, watching as Lightning stood still in the doorway. Not once did her eyes leave him.

"Ah," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Well, I've never been the best aim. Hey, Lightning. Can you heal his wound so we can get out of here?"

Lightning silently walked over to them, kneeling down in front of Balthier and helping him carefully sit up. She placed one hand on his wounded shoulder, the other gently touching his cheek. When he felt the curative magick rush through his veins, he sighed out of relief. He felt much better than he had in a while - l'Cie magick must have been stronger than his own. As soon as she was about to pull her hand away from him, Balthier grabbed her wrist and stared her in the eyes.

"Hey-" she started to protest, but he cut her off.

"I did not expect to see you here," he quietly stated, "Thought you had gone off to chase the fal'Cie."

She helped him stand up, but the look he gave her assured her that he was fine on his own. "I could say the same to you," she answered, looking him directly in the eyes. Fang scoffed from where she stood a few feet away from them, drawing their attention to her.

"C'mon, we need to meet up with the others. Your reunion moment can wait."

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Fang showed them the way to a weaponry room, to which Balthier was more than glad to see. Finally, he wouldn't have to deal with wasting his magick during battle! While the two women gathered up any supplies they would need on the journey to wherever they were headed, he searched through all the weapons until he found something he could use. The guns were nothing like the ones back in Ivalice, something he wouldn't be able to get used to, so he decided to go against his usual choice and found two short blades. They were light enough for him to carry, and they seemed to be swift enough to use in battle. He tucked them both into the scarf around his waist and turned toward Lightning and Fang.

"Are you finished?" Lightning asked, watching him with a raised eyebrow. "When the guards we just killed don't report in, they'll come looking for us."

"Well, then let's be off," he answered, walking past her and following Fang out the door. "Though, it would be rather helpful if you told me where we're headed."

She quickened her pace to walk next to him. "We're meeting Snow and Hope in Felix Heights, where Hope's place is."

"And why did you leave them off on their own, hm? I had thought that you wouldn't let the chance of beating the life out of Snow pass you by as soon as you found him again."

"Change of plans," Fang added in from where she stood at the end of the long hall, peering around the corner. "Lightning here wanted to come rescue you before we went after the others. Said she wouldn't go anywhere until she knew that you were safe."

Lightning avoided Balthier's gaze after that, but remained by his side as they escaped out into the city. Fang led the way, of course, since she seemed to be the only one who knew what to do. Balthier let her have the chance to lead, but only because he had too much on his mind.

Once they entered the main part of Palumpolum, the streets were bare and empty. Balthier tossed one of his new swords into the air, catching it with ease as Fang scouted out the area with Lightning. He stood in one of the many alley ways, waiting for them to return. When they came back, Lightning told him that the entire city must have been evacuated after hearing that there were l'Cie nearby. He couldn't help but smirk at that. So the people were afraid of what they didn't know - how foolish.

"It's nearly night," Fang stated as they walked down the street, careful to avoid any soldiers they might come across. "We should find somewhere to rest until it's day light again. Don't you think so?"

Lightning scoffed. "I'm not tired," she muttered under her breath, "We need to find the others before PSICOM does."

"You and I might not be tired, but our little pirate here might be." Fang smirked, looking over to Balthier. "Aren't you, pirate?"

He didn't want to admit it to them, but yes: he was terribly tired. And hungry. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd had something to eat, let alone had a good night's rest. He had been on the run since arriving on Cocoon, and hearing that he would finally be able to get what he needed was relieving. And so he nodded once, purposely smirking in Lightning's direction.

"Right," Fang said as she started to walk in another direction. "You two stay here while I go steal us some supplies. Try not to kill the poor man, Lightning. It's our fault he's been drug into this mess." She winked at the two of them, and then ran off.

Sighing out of either annoyance or frustration, Lightning walked down to a covered area beneath a bridge. Balthier followed her, only because he didn't want to make her angry - like Snow had back at that lake place. No doubt she could hit harder than those damn soldiers from before...

She leaned up against the railing, looking down at the seemingly endless area below the bridge. Slowly, Balthier stood at her side and studied her expression as she thought to herself. She seemed...different from before. Less tense, almost. He had a feeling that traveling alone with Hope had changed her out look on their situation, that she needed to become less like a closed book in order to get things done; meaning, her Focus.

If it was as he expected, then Lightning had the same Focus as Snow and the others. All of them had been turned to l'Cie at the same time by the same fal'Cie, so no doubt they were all told to do the same thing. 'Save Cocoon', as Serah said. But, something bothered him. If he remembered correctly, hadn't Lightning mentioned to Snow that their Focus was to _destroy_ Cocoon?

Lightning noticed that he was staring at her and narrowed her eyes. "What?" she snapped, scowling. "Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been staring at me since we rescued you."

"Well, I've got to stare at something, haven't I?" he replied, leaning his back against the railing and smirking. "You're an interesting woman, Lightning."

Her expression softened as she looked toward the buildings across the way from them. She took a deep breath after a moment, then quietly told him, "Call me Light."

_If I wasn't mistaken, it would seem that she was finally beginning to warm up to me. And, judging by how she had treated the others before we were separated, I was lucky to have her be willing to understand me. She was probably the only one who even tried at that time._

He glanced over to her, his smirk changing into a small smile. "Very well..._Light_," he said, "Though, I doubt that's your real name. At least, that was what that oaf told me before."

"It's my name now. Lightning. It flashes bright, then fades away. It can't protect...It only destroys."

"At least when I changed my name, I chose something far more pleasant."

She turned her head, staring at him in disbelief. "You, too, huh?"

"I ran from a life that I didn't want to lead. So I chose a new name and became something that was everything I ever wanted: freedom." He sighed, casting his eyes downward. "Then again, I find myself falling into my old ways, before I became a sky pirate. All this running about, trying to avoid the truth...That isn't freedom."

She didn't answer him, so he took it that their conversation was over. They simply stood there in silence, some-what appreciating each others presence until Fang arrived with blankets and food in hand. Apparently she had stolen them from one of the local shops that had been abandoned in the evacuation. Balthier listened to her talk as he quickly ate most of the food she'd brought, watching as Lightning continued to stare out into the distance.

"Slow _down_, pirate," Fang warned him when she looked in his direction. "You're gonna end up making yourself sick if you eat too quickly. Sheesh..."

He didn't bother to listen to what she had said. Then, of course, he regretted not heeding her words soon afterward. He was hunched over a trash bin, coughing up what he'd just eaten and what he _hoped_ wasn't his own insides. Fang laughed loudly when he excused himself and ran off to go vomit, while Lightning sighed heavily. She ended up following him to make sure he didn't accidentally die, or something (her words exactly). Barely touching a hand to his shoulder, her upper lip curled in disgust when he coughed loudly again.

"That's what starving yourself for a few days and eating too fast does to you," she murmured to him once he had wiped off his mouth and leaned his head against the edge of the bin. "I thought someone like you would be used to not eating for a few days..." He only groaned in reply. "I'll take that as a 'no', then."

"I _was_ used to it..." he mumbled, "Then, I ended up in this world and it messed with my system..."

She weakly smiled, helping him stand up straight. "Think you're going to get sick again?" she asked, when she watched his skin turn pale again.

Balthier shook his head. "No...I just need to, ah...lie down for a while..."

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He ended up falling asleep not too long after he and Lightning returned to where they were staying for the night. Fang was still chuckling when Lightning helped him sit down, earning a glare from the pink-haired soldier. It was already dark out when they returned, and the city itself was as dark as the night sky. As he listened to the two women talk amongst themselves, he leaned against the wall behind them, dozing off once he closed his eyes.

While he slept, Lightning pulled some of the blankets out of the pack Fang had stolen and covered him up, watching him sleep soundly for a moment. She turned away from him and went back to partially listening to Fang speak. Then, much to her surprise and the other l'Cie's amusement, Balthier leaned against her shoulder in his sleep, resting his head beside hers. He huddled up close to her, most likely only because she was warmer than he was at the time.

"Ain't that cute," Fang said with a cat-like smirk.

Lightning shot another glare in her direction.

"What? Obviously he likes you well enough to let you be his pillow." She raised an eyebrow, resting her head in the palm of her hand. "You know, most people run for the hills whenever they hear the word 'l'Cie'...But Balthier here seems to be more than happy to be with us right now. That completely goes against what the Sanctum tells us all."

"He's not from here. He doesn't care what others think..." Lightning glanced at his sleeping form again, sighing. "Because he only does what _he_ wants to do, not what others say."

Fang's smirk widened. "I take it the two of you bonded while I was away, didn't ya?"

That time, Lightning threw a small rock at her.

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_Balthier sleeping on Lightning is probably the cutest thing _ever_. :D Aww._


	8. I Don't Need A Focus To Guide Me

**Author's Note:** _Balthier, I love you...But, SERIOUSLY. You've got two gorgeous women watching over you and protecting you all the damn time, and all you do is talk and angst with them? GAH. You confuse me..._

_My thanks go to __**Joshua Chung**__, because without you I'd be very lonely and depressed. :] *hug*_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Eight

I Don't Need A Focus To Guide Me

_When I had first awoken in this new world, I had no clue of what was going to happen to me...I still found it hard to understand everything, despite those I had aligned myself with._

When morning came, Balthier was surprised to see that he'd fallen asleep on Lightning without even trying. She didn't seem to mind, though, when he had quietly apologized for doing so. While Fang found it hard not to laugh at the two of them, Lightning merely told him that she only let him use her as a pillow because he wasn't feeling well. But, seeing how she refused to make eye contact with him told him otherwise.

Unlike the day before, there were more PSICOM soldiers running about the streets looking for them. The three hung back for a while, waiting until some of the commotion died down. Fang took the time to tell them of her past - about who she was, and who she wasn't. Apparently, she had lived on Gran Pulse during some 'War of Transgression' and was one of two l'Cie (the other being Vanille) that had completed their Focus and was crystallized. The two of them had woken up from their crystal slumber nearly five hundred years later, and had forgotten what their first Focus had been. And then, the two of them were separated when they tried to escape the Sanctum after causing _Serah_ to be branded a l'Cie. After that, Fang joined forces with Raines and his Calvary in order to find Vanille.

Balthier leaned up against the railing beside Lightning, listening to Fang finish up with her story. Lightning narrowed her eyes, standing up straight and facing the other l'Cie.

"So, you're telling me Serah will come back to life someday, too?" she asked, her voice harsh and urgent.

"Yep," Fang answered, looking up from where she sat against the wall. "We...didn't do our job right. That's why it made her a l'Cie." She sighed, hanging her head low. "We messed up. Sorry."

Lightning stepped forward, standing right in front of the other woman. Balthier didn't need to watch to know what happened next. The female soldier raised a hand and slapped Fang across the face, making the sky pirate wince at the sound. He learned not to get on Lightning's bad side - whenever she seemed to get mad, someone ended up getting their arse kicked. He wouldn't be one of those peope, that was for sure.

Fang pressed a hand to her cheek, then looked up at the other l'Cie. "That it?" she asked; short and simple.

"You sure better hope so. But whether we're square, that's up to Serah."

"You sound exactly like Snow. And _he_ didn't hit me."

Turning away, Lightning pursed her lips. "Wait," she said, "he already knows this?" Obviously hearing that Snow knew something about Serah before she did didn't sit well with her.

"Wow," Fang sighed in relief, standing up and stretching out her arms. "That's a load off. Glad I apologized!"

"You only apologized so you would feel better?" Balthier asked with a wide smirk.

"Guess so." She turned to him, ignoring the frustrated look Lightning was giving the two of them. "How 'bout you? Anything you need to apologize for, pirate?"

He could feel Lightning's eyes on him, but he simply shook his head and sighed. "Not at the moment..."

A few moments after that, Lightning decided that it was time to get a move on. Balthier would have preferred if they had stayed in one place for a while longer, but there was nothing he could do to change her mind. The three of them walked over to the stairs leading up to the main part of the city, and Lightning stopped Balthier before he could head any further.

"Felix Heights is up there. Still a-ways before we get to Hope's place," she said to the two of them.

Fang stretched out her arms and agreed, "Better pick it up."

Balthier squinted his eyes as he looked around, searching for an easier way to get past all the soldiers that were still patrolling the streets. "We should head through that gate," he suggested, pointing to the gate nearby the other bridge across the city. "It'll be quicker and easier. We'll still have to fight a few times, but that shouldn't be too hard."

"So says the man who made himself sick last night," she said under her breath, smirking at him. "What makes you think we should take advice from you, hm?"

The two of them glared at each other (though Fang was simply teasing him) until Lightning stepped in between them. "He's right," she stated, tired of putting up with their constant banter. "We'll head out that way, for now."

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PSICOM's soldiers were easier to deal with when Balthier actually had a weapon. Occasionally he returned to his old magick casting ways, but most of the time he took them down with his blades. Still, he missed his fomalhaut - the swords were good to use, but they were nothing compared to the effectiveness of a gun.

They managed to reach the other bridge quicker than they expected, despite what Fang may have commented about it. Only a few soldiers followed them past the gate, but Lightning took care of them as soon as she saw they were targeting the sky pirate. He begrudgingly thanked her, and she pretended not to notice. Fang sat down on one of the stairs leading up to the center of the bridge, while Balthier leaned over the edge of it, staring down at the water below. Lightning walked up beside him, eying him carefully as if she expected him to jump off.

"Okay," Fang said as she pulled out a phone, "Let's get Snow on the line." She paused, then angrily shook it away from her ear. "Damn thing's still jammed...Eh, he can take care of himself."

"We'll just have to believe that," Lightning agreed, walking away from the bridge's edge and looking down. "...The others are safe, right? If any of us got caught, they'd make an announcement."

Balthier jumped down from the railing and brushed off the front of his vest. "Of course they would," he replied, "They would need to let everyone know that the big, bad l'Cie can't hurt them anymore." He scoffed, shaking his head. "These Cocoon people are all cowards, the lot of them."

She turned toward him, eyes glaring. "'These Cocoon people' have spent centuries under fal'Cie law, in constant fear of a Pulse invasion." She frowned, "If it weren't for Serah, I'd be out there, too. Hunting l'Cie. Would have been nothing but targets to me."

"Well," Fang looked at the two of them and said with a small, sarcastic smile, "Pulse is just as twisted. 'Cocoon's a nest of vipers, ready to strike'...Or, so I thought."

"So you became a l'Cie to fight the 'vipers', and destroying the nest is your..." She sighed, touching the necklace around her neck. "I mean, _our _Focus now."

The black-haired l'Cie stood up, walking past Balthier and right over to Lightning. "Until we woke up here, we'd been in crystal stasis. Which means...we must have completed our first Focus." She sighed out of frustration, looking up toward the sky. "Why can't I remember that part? My child hood's clear as day, but the one thing I need most...It's just gone. Blank - like an empty page. I reach for the memory, but there's nothing there." She and Lightning walked down the stairs, Balthier following close behind as he fixed the gloves on his hands. "And then there's my brand. It's all messed up."

Balthier looked up and toward the two women, curious.

"Vanille and me - we lost our past, and our Focus..."

Lightning tilted her head to the side. "And now, you want to find them?" she asked, "Be a Pulse l'Cie, an enemy of Cocoon?"

"Tch," Fang scoffed, "Pulse and Cocoon can rot for all I care. If I don't figure out our Focus soon...Vanille's gonna be a Cie'th." She looked up toward the sky, then back down at her hands. "I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her."

_Normally I would have said something in return, but that time...I couldn't bring myself to say a single word. Fang was dedicated to protecting Vanille, despite the fate that was awaiting them both. I wondered: could I even do anything to stop their doomed fate?  
_

Balthier eventually caught up to them, and Fang gave him a questioning look once he walked in front of her. "We must be almost there," he said to them, "We've been out here for almost the entire day. Don't you think now would be the perfect time to stop for a rest?"

"We l'Cie don't have time for rest," Lightning spat, brushing past him. "We need to keep on going further. We've already wasted enough time just standing here."

Fang shot him an apologetic look, and walked after the other woman. Balthier, however, hung his head low and reluctantly followed. Why couldn't he shake off the feeling that they were being followed...?

As they walked on, still avoiding battle as much as they could for Balthier's sake (at least Fang knew that he couldn't go on for too long without a break), the three of them were silent. They were all thinking about different things, but Balthier only had one thing on his mind: getting back to Ivalice. Even though things seemed to be going fairly quickly around him, he was still no where near finding his way home. He wanted to talk to Serah again, to ask her if he was doing exactly what he was meant to do.

Helping those six l'Cie complete their Focus...It seemed so simple, but at the same time, he didn't know what he had to do in order to guarantee that he would return to Ivalice as soon as it was all over. Fran must have been worried about him. He'd been gone for quite a while, and who knew how much time had passed back home. Years could have passed by, and he wouldn't have even known it.

Lightning looked back at him, her expression becoming concerned when she saw that he had stopped following them. He met her gaze, and weakly smiled at her. But then, she took a step back when something behind him caught her eye. "Balthier!" she cried out, pulling out her gunblade and rushing forward.

He turned around, but once he was facing the other direction something knocked him off his feet. Fang had pushed him away from the large Sanctum droid, hitting him in the stomach with her lance and knocking the wind out of him. Lightning barely caught him before he could hit the ground, and he gave her a charming smile despite his current dizziness.

"Warn me sooner next time, won't you?" he asked, standing up on his own. She had to hold his arm to keep him steady until he was back to normal, and the two of them ran forward to help Fang.

Balthier pulled out his swords, smirking as soon as he caught sight of a small group of PSICOM soldiers running out from behind the droid. Then, his smirk faded once he was surrounded; guns pointed directly at him. "Oh, bugger," he cursed, beginning to cast a stop spell. Before he could release the magick, there was an explosion of pink light behind them. Lightning grabbed him by the back of his vest, pulling him in front of her and onto some sort of armored horse.

"Hold on," she muttered to him, wrapping a hand around his waist. He nodded to her, and took her gunblade from her when she handed it to him.

While she took full control of the Eidolon - he could just tell that it couldn't have been anything else - he aimed the gun blade (now more of a gun than a blade) and shot at the soldiers below them as they rode toward Fang and the droid. She looked up at the two of them and gave them a rather confused expression, but she jumped onto the summon and sat behind Lightning.

"Take us outta here!" Fang yelled, "We gotta run from this fight!"

Odin - Balthier had heard Lightning call it that - ran off into an alley way hidden behind some of the tall buildings, and before the soldiers could chase after them, the Eidolon released some sort of energy attack against them, quickly turning around in a circle as they watched their enemies fall. As soon as they were safely hidden between the buildings, Lightning dismissed her Eidolon, and the three of them were once again on the ground.

Fang was the first to speak, grinning like a cat at the other woman. "I didn't know you'd already tamed your Eidolon, Lightning! That was for sure an exciting ride!" she exclaimed, stretching out her arms. She then turned toward Balthier and asked, "Don't ya think so too, pirate?"

Balthier was resting a hand against the wall, covering his mouth with his other hand as his face turned a pale shade of green. "I think I'm going to be sick..." he groaned, and both Fang and Lightning sighed in unison.

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**

After taking a short rest, mostly for Balthier's sake, again, the three of them headed down the alley way in silence. Fang walked down the stairs ahead of the other two, but she stopped once she reached the bottom. She put her hands on her hips, and asked, "Hey, Lightning, did you see Vanille's brand?"

Lightning shook her head and stopped walking down the stairs. "No," she answered, only slightly confused.

"No, huh?" The black-haired l'Cie sighed in disappointment, continuing her walk down the alley way as the others followed her. Then, she stopped again and faced them, mainly Lightning. "Wanna know how long until it's Cie'th city? Just look at your brand." Lightning turned away from them and unzipped the front of her shirt to, obviously, look at her l'Cie brand. "You start getting more arrows, and then finally an eye. Once it opens up all the way, you're done." Then, she walked over to the younger woman and stood right in front of her. "Let's have a look. Don't be shy!"

Balthier turned his head away awkwardly, slightly embarrassed by the situation. He wondered: what kind of fal'Cie would be prude enough to brand a woman on her chest? He shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Nowhere near. You got time," Fang stated as Lightning zipped up her shirt, turning away. "Still, you never know. Some people, doesn't take so lon. You get a nasty shock, it can speed up the process."

For some reason, Balthier remembered, or at least tried to remember, his comrades back in Ivalice. But, when he tried to picture them, all he could see were blurred faces. Something wasn't right there...

"Vanille's brand must be pretty far along now...I've gotta save her and get her home."

Lightning tilted her head to the side slightly. "To Pulse, you mean?" she asked.

"To _Gran_ Pulse. I hear the Sanctum prevents people from leaving Cocoon. I'd like to see 'em try and stop me!"

"So, that's your plan?" The female soldier walked a few steps away from the two, staring down at the ground. "Wish I had one. Without Serah, without a future, there's nothing to plan for. There's no way out of this mess, and no way to fight it. I'm stuck trading blows with the Sanctum, but that's no plan." She walked past Balthier, who was leaned up against the wall of one of the buildings. "Even if we topple the government, where's that leave us? With nothing to fight for? I might as well be dead..."

"Your sister," Balthier stated, and the two women looked in his direction. "You have quite an amount to fight for. Think about it. Wouldn't you want to see Serah, after she wakes up? _That's_ your future right there." He smirked at her, but she kept staring at him. "The only thing you need to do right now is remember that you're fighting for her, and only her. I don't need a Focus to guide me, and neither do you. So, forget what the fal'Cie ordered of you and remember Serah." He then weakly smiled, folding his arms across his chest. "It's quite simple, if you take the time to think about it."

Lightning nearly smiled, but she turned around and began to walk away. "Right..." she murmured, sounding uneasy. But before anyone could say anything else, an air ship from above shot at one of the buildings in the distance all of the sudden. They all looked up as soon as they heard the explosion, and Lightning became tense. "Snow!" she yelled out.

"They found 'em!" Fang stated as she turned around, facing the direction they had just come from. "You two go after them, I'll try to find some way to distract those lackeys!" She ran off up the stairs, and Balthier turned toward the female soldier, seeing that she was still staring up at the ruined building.

"Light, let's go," he told her, gently grabbing her arm. She met his gaze and nodded, and the two of them ran off toward the explosion.

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_What? Balthier stole Fang's lines? Silly pirate..._

_I seem to enjoy abusing Balthier...:D But that's only because I lurve him. Haha!_


	9. A Public Enemy

**Author's Note:** _For some reason, this feels like a filler chapter to me. It's mostly dialogue, and not a lot of action. And Balthier angsts quite a bit, too. Aww. He needs a hug. Snow, Lightning, or someone, go give him a hug! :D_

_I hope you like this chapter, __**Joshua Chung**__, even if it's more...angsty than the others. :D_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Nine

A Public Enemy

_To be honest, I had gotten the impression that Lightning hated Snow more than anything else in that world. But, seeing how she was determined to find both he and Hope...I had changed my mind._

Nothing Balthier did to try and calm Lightning down seemed to work. She barely said a word to him as they ran through the city, frantically trying to get to Snow and Hope before PSICOM did. When they had found the debris that had fallen from the top of the building, there was no sign of either of them. Lightning clenched her fists, fearing the worst.

"No one could have survived a fall like that," Balthier stated, staring up at the destruction above. "But then again, Snow is always full of surprises when it comes to surviving things..."

She turned away from him, clutching a hand over her necklace. Balthier sighed heavily, shaking his head as he walked toward her, standing directly in front of her. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders, and she forced herself to look away from his gaze.

"Knowing that oaf, he's probably still on the move," he assured her, "Now, let's just continue with the plan and head toward the boy's place. Do you understand?" Lightning glanced to him and nodded once. He smirked and weakly messed up her hair, which only earned him an intense glare.

Without Fang with them, it was harder to deal with any enemies they came across. Half the time they had to run from battle, mainly due to Balthier walking right in the middle of danger, forcing Lightning to come to his rescue. That didn't help his ego very much, and by the time they reached the residential area of the city both of them were exhausted. But, Lightning was more than determined to go on, even if that meant going after Snow and Hope on her own. Balthier half-expected her to give up on him and leave him behind if he was ever knocked unconscious in battle.

Thankfully he managed to convince her to stop for a brief rest, despite what she'd said about l'Cie not having any time to do so. He only reminded her that _he_ wasn't a l'Cie - just a mere hume. He wasn't as strong as her, she knew that much.

The two of them were off again once Balthier had regained his stamina, and just a few moments after they were on the move, he saw a dragon-like fiend flying toward one of the taller buildings of apartments. "Now isn't that odd," he murmured as Lightning walked up beside him, noticing it as well. "I wouldn't be surprised if that thing had found our two lost l'Cie before we could."

"Then what are we waiting for? They probably need our help," she agreed, pulling out her gunblade.

She led the way through the building, and once they reached the top floor they found Hope facing against the fiend all on his lonesome. Lightning immediately ran to his aid, yelling out and asking in the process, "Where's Snow?"

Hope seemed glad that help had arrived. "He's okay!" he told her, trying to grin.

Balthier looked around from where he stood for the blond l'Cie, knowing that Lightning would be able to handle the fiend without his help. He found Snow lying on his back on the tile, clearly unconscious. Sighing out of frustration, Balthier went over to him and knelt down at his side, murmuring a small curative spell. "Always the hero," he stated quickly, touching the blond's chin with a gentle hand. "You should know better by now not be so reckless."

Stirring slightly, Snow barely opened his eyes when he heard the sky pirate's voice. "Serah...?" he whispered, and Balthier rolled his eyes.

"Not by a long shot, Ice." He managed to help the taller man sit up, but Snow lost consciousness soon after and slumped up against the sky pirate. Balthier went tense when he felt the other man's weight on him, but he allowed him to lean up against him for the time being. "Tch, first you call me by your girl's name and then you lean on me. What's next, you wanting me to kiss you goodnight?"

The other two managed to kill the dragon-fiend quicker than expected, and Balthier was more than surprised to see Lightning suddenly embrace Hope after he'd said something to her. He raised an eyebrow in slight suspicion (or was it jealousy?) and called out to them, pointing to the man leaning on his shoulder, "It would be nice if the two of you helped me right now!"

Lightning turned to look at him first, nearly smiling in amusement. "Now you know how I felt when you were sick the other night," she stated as she lifted Snow off of Balthier. She rested one of his arms around her shoulders, helping him stand up. He appeared to be half-conscious, thankfully, so she didn't have to carry him completely.

"Where have you guys been?" Hope asked, standing between the two. "It's been nearly two days since we were separated."

"We had a few inconveniences on the way," Balthier answered, ignoring the look Lightning gave him at that moment. "But, we're here now, aren't we? Shame Fang left us, though. We could have used her help in dealing with all those barbaric soldiers..." He eyed Hope for a moment, then asked out of pure habit, "You're all right, though? Not too much trouble for you?"

The young l'Cie grinned. "Nope. Everything's all worked out now."

"Glad to hear it. Can't have you dying before we get you home, can we?"

"Yeah...Home," Hope muttered under his breath, looking down at his feet. Lightning was already gone with Snow, most likely feeling quite impatient and refusing to watch the two of them dawdle any longer. "Not sure if I'm ready to go back there just yet. It's been a while."

Balthier tilted his head slightly. "Problems with your father, per chance?"

"How'd you know?" He blinked in confusion up at the sky pirate, surprised.

"Light may have mentioned you weren't on the best terms with him. I can understand, though." He turned around, getting ready to follow Lightning and Snow. "I wasn't ready to confront my father when the time came, but I went through with it. You'll feel better once you pass by the problems, trust me."

Hope nodded in understanding and smiled weakly. They then ran after the other two, and once they reached Lightning she glared at them until they apologized for making her wait for them. Balthier looked out toward the sun set as they walked up the hall to Hope's home, a sudden feeling of regret coming over him. Seeing the boy going through almost the same situations he had gone through brought up old memories. At least, the things he _could_ remember.

_Knowing that you will always be welcome despite all the troubles you've created...That is what having a home is truly about._

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As soon as they were inside the house, Lightning told Balthier that Hope's mother had died in battle under Snow's command, which was why Hope had been so cold toward him when they'd met. That explained why Balthier had seen Hope continuously glare at Snow when all of them were together back in Lake Bresha. He couldn't help but wonder if Lightning had intentionally left Hope in Snow's care when she and Fang had left him, just so the two of them could work out their differences.

Lightning was off with Snow in one of the bedrooms, watching over him until he would wake up. Balthier decided to roam around for a bit and explore the house, finally getting the chance to really relax. He found a picture of Hope's family, and seeing it reminded him of his family back on Ivalice - meaning, those he had traveled with before he came to Cocoon. But, for some reason, he found it hard to remember their faces.

He still couldn't even remember how he had even ended up in the new world in the first place, and it worried him. It felt as if he was forgetting his own _life_, and if he was...Did that mean he would soon forget himself?

"No," he told himself, shaking his head. "It won't come to that. I'll be back there in no time, once all of this is finished."

Then again, did he even want to return to Ivalice? True, he had Fran waiting there for him, as well as the others, but there, in Cocoon...He had people he could finally trust, people who understood him and were willing to help him. He wanted to help them, too, but helping them complete their Focus meant helping them meet their end. 'L'Cie who complete their Focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life,' Vanille had told him. Balthier's task on Cocoon, as far as he knew, was to help Lightning and the others on their journey to save Cocoon, but at the same time he was leading them toward crystallization.

If they were crystallized, then they would be gone...And he would be alone in a world that wasn't his own.

But he didn't want them to _not_ complete their Focus - they would become Cie'th, and would probably end up killing him without even knowing that he was their ally; their friend.

Either way, in the end, he'd be alone. Unless, like Serah had said, he would return to Ivalice and be able to continue his life as a sky pirate. But, still, he wasn't sure if that was what he wanted anymore. With them, his new comrades, he felt _happy_. In Cocoon, he was no longer tied to his past and was able to forget whatever wrongs he may have done back in Ivalice. He could start a new life there, if he wanted.

Sighing deeply, Balthier walked toward the room where Lightning and Snow were. She was standing outside the door, watching him approach her, and saw his worried expression. "Something wrong?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He merely shook his head, staring down at the floor under his feet.

Lightning took a step toward him, but then stopped herself before she could get any closer to him. "Snow...wants to talk to you," she said, avoiding his gaze. "He's awake now, so I don't need to watch over him."

"I'll take over your job, then," Balthier answered, reaching for the door knob. But she stopped him, touching his arm, and he nearly flinched when he felt her hand on him.

"Balthier?"

He looked up, and their eyes met. For a moment, they simply stared at each other in silence, but Balthier was the first one to turn his eyes away. She watched him for a few seconds before walking down the hall, leaving him without saying good-bye.

Balthier sighed again, and pushed the door open. He was greeted by Snow's smirking face, the blond sitting up in the bed with his arms folded behind his head. He had a bandage around his waist, and wasn't wearing his shirt or trench coat. He did, however, still have his bandana over his hair.

"Good to see you're still in one piece," Snow greeted, watching as the sky pirate walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "I'd thought the Sanctum would have executed you, like Raines had said."

"It takes more than a few mad soldiers to kill me," Balthier replied, sitting down on the end of the bed. "I could say the same to you, but you're not in the best shape at the moment."

"Heh, of course." He tilted his head to the side, and said, "I take it that means you haven't found a way home yet."

Balthier frowned weakly, looking down at his hands. "It's too much," he murmured.

"Hm?"

"My comrades. All I can think about is, 'what could I have done?' I despite myself for leaving them behind, knowing that I may have left them when they needed me most. It...hurts to try and remember them." He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked over to the blond. "Look, Snow...I am sorry. Forgive me."

Snow sat up, raising both eyebrows in confusion. "For what?"

The sky pirate looked away from his gaze, casting his eyes downward. "For doubting you, when we met. I didn't understand what all of you were going through, what you've done. All you're trying to do is what your girl told you, to save your home from danger. I didn't believe that was even possible...But now, I understand. I'm just afraid that once this is all over, there won't be anything left here for me."

"...What are you saying?"

"Serah told me to help all of you with your Focus, but...once I've done that, where do I go? You'll all be crystal, asleep until it's your time to rise again. I don't even know for positive if I can still return to Ivalice, and if I can't..."

Snow moved closer to him, clasping a hand on his shoulder. "Balthier, I know we don't always see eye-to-eye, but...I'll make a promise to you. Right now." When Balthier turned around, he could see the sudden determination in Snow's eyes - just like when he spoke of saving Cocoon, just like Serah told him. "I promise I'll get you back to your home. You're risking your own life to help us, just because Serah told you to do that. I'm going to get you home, no matter what."

_Though I may not have wanted help from others, I didn't want to be alone once it was all over. I hated to admit it, but I needed him - all of them._

Balthier blinked slowly, but eventually he smirked and nodded his head. "Then I hope you're good at keeping promises, Ice."

Before Snow could correct him, Hope opened the door and peered inside. "My dad said he'd like to see you guys," he told them, "He wants to talk."

**

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They all met up in the living room, and Snow sat down beside Lightning on one of the couches, across from Hope and his father, Bartholomew Estheim. Balthier chose not to sit down and leaned up against one of the chairs, folding his arms across his chest as he watched Snow stand up again and get on his knees, hanging his head low.

"The blame is mine," he said, "I couldn't save her."

Balthier, though he was confused at first, figured out that Snow was apologizing for causing the death of Hope's mother.

"If it wasn't for Snow, I wouldn't be here right now," Hope told his father, looking between the two of them.

Bartholomew frowned for a moment, staring down at his hands. Then, he looked over to Snow and asked, "Snow, did Nora...Did she say anything to you?"

Snow looked up. "Hope. She said to...to get him home."

Must to everyone's surprise, the older man weakly smiled. "And that's exactly what you've done."

Everyone, even Balthier, sighed in relief. To think, he had expected the man to threaten to kill Snow - not actually thank him.

"Face-to-face like this, it's hard to believe you're all dangerous fugitives," Bartholomew stated, looking at them all. "But the entire world is scared to death of you l'Cie. No, not even just you...People who've helped you," Balthier looked away from them all at this point, frowning, "Bumped into you...Sometimes it's even just people who've walked by one of you. They think they're 'tainted' and want every one of them Purged."

Snow stood up, scowling. "The Sanctum's a puppet of the fal'Cie! To them, our lives don't mean anything at all," he angrily said. "We'll stop this. Take down the Sanctum, _and_ save Cocoon."

"You've thought that through?" Hope's father asked, raising an eyebrow. "If l'Cie take down the Sanctum, fear of Pulse will only get worse. It won't stop at fear. People will take up arms and stand against you. Can you imagine it? The rampant violence?"

Lightning folded her arms across her chest, thinking. "When the government's control is gone," she murmured out loud, "the citizens will revolt."

"So, what then?" Balthier asked as he stood up straight, turning toward Bartholomew with narrowed eyes. "Are they supposed to smile and eat a bullet? That means you and I, too, you know."

"I know I'm part of this," the older man answered, "I'm on your side of the fence. Harborer of l'Cie, and a public enemy."

Balthier looked away in frustration, cursing under his breath. Hope frowned, and quietly said, "Coming here was a bad idea..."

Bartholomew clapped a hand onto his son's shoulder, determined. "This is _your_ home," he said, and then he stood up to face them all. "We're all here. Let's figure this out together."

But before any one could say another word, the lights flickered off and sirens sounded all around the house.

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_"Caught in a bad __**bro**__mance~..." :D I love the whole love-hate thing Balthier and Snow have between them. And what's with Balthier and Lightning? Hm...Methinks there's something going on between them...  
_


	10. An Angel Amongst The Chaos

**Author's Note:** _YES. I've been waiting to write this chapter for so long! Snow gets to be epic in this chapter! Too bad Balthier decides to take the spot light from him...Hee hee!_

_My thanks goes to __**Joshua Chung**__, as always, for being just down right amazing and leaving me a review for every chapter so far!_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Ten

An Angel Amongst The Chaos

_I knew that eventually PSICOM would catch up to us...I just only wished that it hadn't been that soon._

Clenching his fists, Balthier remained as still as stone until the sirens ceased to ring. Everything was silent, apart from the humming of an air ship over the house, and no one dared to move. They had been found by PSICOM, despite all their efforts to remain hidden. And now, they'd caused an innocent man to be drug down with them. Balthier knew it was a bad idea to let Hope's father help them all.

Everything was still dark, and he could barely make out the shadows of the others in the room with him. He could hear Snow's heavy breathing beside him, and he realized that if there was a fight, the taller man wouldn't be able to handle it. He was still injured from defending Hope earlier that day. Smirking weakly, Balthier knew that it was his time to take the lead.

All of the sudden, Lightning looked up at the ceiling and exclaimed, "Heads up!"

Balthier barely had time to look up at what she'd seen before gas bombs were dropped down upon them, releasing the toxic gas and forcing them all to their knees. He clenched his eyes shut, tears burning his eyes as he harshly coughed. Sanctum soldiers came crashing through the windows, running toward the currently weakened group with their guns and swords at the ready.

Beside him, Snow grabbed Balthier by the arm and pulled him behind him. "Balthier, stay back!" he yelled, "I'll take care of them!" But before he could even get ready to fight, he collapsed to his knees and continued to cough, clutching his injury. Balthier, though he may have not wanted to, grabbed Snow's hand and pulled him to his feet.

"You aren't ready for this!" he sternly told him, narrowing his eyes. "I'll stay here! Snow, help the boy's father!"

Snow reluctantly nodded, and the two of them clasped hands for a moment as if they were saying 'good luck' to each other. He then ran to the back of the room with Bartholomew, hiding out somewhere Balthier didn't bother to look. While he was distracted, a soldier aimed his gun at Balthier and prepared to shoot him, but out of nowhere Lightning kicked the man to the floor. She pulled out her gunblade as Balthier unsheathed his two swords, the two of them soon joined by Hope.

"Ready?" she asked the two of them as more soldiers ran through the broken windows.

"The leading man is always ready for a fight!" Balthier answered confidently, smirking widely.

He ran at a small grouping of soldiers and nearly tackled them, stabbing one of them right in the chest once he was close enough. All of his enemies held guns, and he realized how foolish it would have been if he had gone into a battle like that with his fomalhaut. Shaking his head, he dodged the bullets fired at him and kicked one of the men to the floor, stabbing him in the neck. He flinched when blood squirted out onto his face, and as he cursed quietly, Balthier saw Lightning take down a whole group of soldiers in one hit.

"Show off," he muttered, rolling his eyes. Realizing that he was distracting himself by watching Lightning, Balthier turned around just as a bullet grazed his hand. He dropped both of his swords in recoil, clutching his bleeding hand. "Damn!"

Lightning ran past him, taking care of the rest of the soldiers while he healed his hand. But, for whatever reason, he couldn't cast magick at all. Balthier scowled, picking up his swords from the floor and tucked them into the scarf around his waist. He watched as Lightning killed the last of the Sanctum soldiers, and frowned when he put her gunblade away.

"If you would be a dear and help me, I'd very much appreciate it," he said to her, and she carefully took his injured hand in her own. Usually he would have made some charming comment to her about how she had willingly taken his hand, but he just wasn't in the mood. He'd have to say something later to her about it, nonetheless.

She healed it in a matter of seconds with her l'Cie magick, and then he followed her toward the shattered windows. She crouched down near the floor on her knees, her eyes narrowed, and saw Hope standing at the other side of the room, still safe.

Balthier peered out from behind her toward the soldiers waiting outside and asked sarcastically, "Who ordered the battalion?"

"They'll take out the whole building next," Lightning hissed, before turning toward Snow and Hope's father. She motioned for them to move, and they rushed over to them. Bartholomew stood over on the other side of the room with his son, while Snow ran to Balthier and Lightning.

The blond nearly collapsed at Balthier's feet, and attempted to smile when the sky pirate touched his shoulder. "Easy now," Balthier murmured under his breath. Snow nodded, and turned around to look out the window. He narrowed his eyes, scowling when he caught sight of all the soldiers just waiting for them to come out.

"My turn," he stated, slowly standing up. He began to take off his coat and his shirt, but Balthier ended up helping him. Then he stood against the wall in front of Lightning and held out his coat so the soldiers would be able to see it. Immediately they opened fire, thinking it was an actual person - or l'Cie, for that matter.

Lightning flinched, stepping toward him. "Snow-"

He held out an arm, stopping her from coming any closer to him. "Don't shoot!" he yelled out to the soldiers, "I'll show you what a l'Cie looks like!"

As soon as the shooting ceased, Snow stepped out into the open area, holding out his arms. Balthier stood closer to Lightning, holding onto her arm as if he expected her to try and run after the other l'Cie. That, and he didn't want her to do anything foolish or get herself killed.

"Me! I'm a l'Cie!" Snow exclaimed, his eyes focused ahead of him as he continued to walk forward. "Expected some kind of monster? I'm flesh and blood, like you! An ordinary citizen of Cocoon! Don't you get it?" He lowered his arms, clenching his fists. "This has been our home our whole lives! How could we even _think_ about destroying it? We want to protect this place just as much as you!"

While the soldiers questioned the l'Cie's intentions amongst themselves, a man stepped out from the crowd. Balthier scowled and narrowed his eyes once he saw Rosch approach Snow, remembering what he'd done a few days earlier. "You must be Snow Villiers," Rosch said, stopping a few feet away from the blond l'Cie. "Yaag Rosch, PSICOM Division. I understand your plight...However, the PULSE is not so easily dismissed. The very existence of you l'Cie and outsiders from worlds unknown puts every last one of us in danger." When he said that last part, Balthier clenched his fists, taking a few steps forward. "Tell me, do you really think your life is worth more than the lives of millions of Cocoon citizens? I do not. And so, it falls to me to order your execution."

At that point, Balthier had walked out into the open area just like Snow had, despite the frightened look Lightning had given him when he'd walked away from her.

"It's that simple," Rosch continued, pulling out a gun. "It is my responsibility to see you put down!" As he turned away, he glanced back and muttered, "Your lives are forfeit."

Balthier brushed past Snow, ignoring the confused look he received, and walked right up to the colonel. "That's a lie!" he yelled, and Rosch turned around completely to face him. "If you want l'Cie, then kill l'Cie! Why do others have to die! This madness must stop _now_!"

Rosch pointed the gun directly at the sky pirate, but Balthier didn't even flinch. "Do you think we _want_ to Purge our own people? If any trace of Pulse remains, or any other world, the populace will erupt into chaos. Without sacrifice, without the Purge, Cocoon will die! There is nothing an outsider like you can do to stop us!"

And then, he fired his gun without warning. Balthier winced, taking a step back as he touched his stomach with shaky hands, eyes widening when he saw that they were covered with blood. Barely hearing Snow yelling out to him, he fell to his knees in front of Rosch, clutching his wounded stomach. He looked up once more at the man who'd shot him, and then he collapsed to the cement, lying still as he stared ahead of him with dazed eyes.

Snow stepped forward, his eyes filled with fury. "You son of a-"

"Your fate will be the same as his, l'Cie!" Rosch yelled, carelessly stepping over Balthier's still form. "All of you will soon be joining the outsider in the after life! Mark my words, you will _all_ die."

Then, out of nowhere, gas bombs flew out from the crowd of soldiers and exploded into clouds of dust. As Snow coughed, trying to stay standing, Rosch turned around and faced his soldiers, scowling in anger.

"Who fired? I gave no _order_!"

Soldiers suddenly opened fire at their own in the confusion, bodies falling to the ground like flies. As he turned around again, Rosch saw one soldier aim their gun right at him, and not a second later he was shot down, his body falling down with the rest of his soldiers.

**

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Balthier opened his eyes, his vision blurring as he looked upon a bright colored area. As he turned his head up from the ground to look up, he looked right into the face of princess Ashe, watching him with a kind smile on her beautiful face. Behind her a short distance away stood his other comrades, and he nearly smiled when he saw Fran watching him, too.

"...Princess?" he whispered, attempting to sit up, but his arms were far too weak for him to even move.

"So the leading man gave up that easily?" she asked, shaking her head. "I thought you above this." She then held out a hand to him, smiling again. "Come on. Their world needs you, Balthier."

He could only stare as Ashe began to fade away, leaving the young girl Serah standing in her place. She held out her hand, like the princess had, and continued to smile at him. Balthier then grabbed her hand, and everything became dark.

**

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"Dammit! Balthier!" Snow yelled between coughs, watching as the rest of the soldiers fell. He couldn't see a thing in the clouds of dust and toxic gas, but he kept looking around for his fallen comrade. "Balthier!" He looked up as a small air ship came down from the sky toward him, staring up in shock and fear. The air ship's turrets were turned toward him, and just as he was about to give up, he looked ahead of him and saw Balthier slowly sitting up.

The sky pirate rubbed the back of his neck as he stood, muttering something to himself once he was standing up completely. He turned around, facing Snow, and simply smirked. "Well, that was an interesting dream," he stated, shrugging his shoulders. "That's the last time I fall asleep on the job..."

Snow gaped at him, too shocked to notice both Lightning and Hope running past him. He watched the two of them run toward the air ship, and couldn't help but grin out of relief.

"Our turn, hero!" Lightning said, pulling out her gunblade and standing in front of him. Balthier contently walked up beside her, his swords already drawn, but she didn't seem to notice that he was even there.

"What? I can handle a little gas," Snow stated, but soon after he spoke he broke out into another coughing fit, nearly falling to his knees.

Hope turned around to look at him once, then faced the air ship again. "Catch your breath! I'll make sure to get in a few hits for you!"

Lightning didn't waste any time when she unleashed a flurry of attacks against the air ship, combining magick with each attack as she shot at it with the gun part of her gunblade. When she jumped into the air and landed on top of the air ship, she turned around and stabbed her blade into one of its mechanical arms, electricity shooting out all around her. She then looked up, and her eyes locked onto Balthier, who was fending off the bullets flying toward him. As she stared at him in shock, the air ship's pilot raised one of the machine's mechanical arms and flung her toward the cement.

Nearly dropping his swords, Balthier rushed forward as soon as he saw her fall. He caught her before she could hit the ground, and she stared at him with a blank, confused expression.

"You," she whispered, reaching up and touching a hand to his cheek. "You were shot...How can you still be alive?"

"The leading man never dies," Balthier answered, smirking. "Haven't you learned that by now?"

Lightning almost smiled, but hearing Hope yell out to him snapped her out of her daze. "I could use a little help here, you two!" the boy yelled, dodging the mechanical arm swinging around him.

After he helped Lightning stand up, Balthier turned toward her and muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "Now would be the best time to use your l'Cie magick again."

She took the hint and pulled out her rose crystal out from her pocket, tossing it into the air. She shot at it with her gunblade, and in a pink explosion Odin stood before them. Hope and Balthier stood back while Lightning and her Eidolon took over the battle, both understanding that they would only get in the way if they tried to help - not that she even needed their help. The armored Eidolon transformed into the horse, like before, and Lightning looked back at them before letting the battle take over her mind. It wasn't long before the air ship fell, exploding into the distance as Odin was dismissed.

But just as the first air ship fell, another one took its place. Lightning stepped back, standing beside Balthier as he asked with exhaustion, "Do they ever end?"

"Doesn't seem like it," she answered, getting into her battle stance again and preparing to fight off their enemy. Before any of them could even strike, something fired on the air ship from above, sending it to the ground below. Balthier stared with raised eyebrows as Fang jumped down from the new air ship, landing gracefully on her feet in front of the three. Calvary soldiers ran past her, taking down any of their enemies that were left behind in the chaos.

"Need a hand?" she asked with a wide grin.

Lightning rolled her eyes, sheathing her gunblade in its holder. "Don't get cute," she hissed through gritted teeth, though even she had to admit that she was glad to see the other woman.

Hope ran back into the house to talk with his father, and Balthier turned around as he heard Snow coughing. The blond grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up as he walked over to the sky pirate. "That was some risky move you pulled there," he said, clasping a hand on Balthier's shoulder. "We thought...I thought you were a goner! How can you still be alive after getting shot?"

"You can thank Serah for that," Balthier quietly answered. He knew that Serah had been the one to save him from death, but Ashe, and the others, had been there as well. "She was the one who stopped me from giving up. You're a lucky man, Ice. Your girl is one of a kind."

Snow only laughed, and the two of them headed over to Fang and Lightning. The pink-haired l'Cie watched Balthier as he turned around once more, looking back as Hope said good-bye to his father. The sky pirate shook his head in regret, touching her shoulder for a moment as he walked past and onto the Guardian Corps air ship.

_When it comes to home and family, we never keep either as close as we should. Seeing the boy with his father only made me wonder: if I hadn't left the others behind, would anything have changed?_

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_Yay, the FFXII main party finally got to make a very short appearance! And Serah, too!_

_Balthier, you're starting to see things. O.o Should we be worried?_


	11. Looking Toward The Future

**Author's Note:** _I miss Vanille and Sazh. :( Thank goodness they'll be showing up in the next chapter or so! By the way, this story has gotten over 120 views! :D So, you know, to be nice...Everyone who reads this should leave a review? LOL  
_

_I love you, too, __**Joshua Chung**__. :3_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Eleven

Looking Toward The Future

_Despite the all the troubles we had faced, it seemed that things were starting to look up for the time being. I couldn't help but feel as if things would take a turn for the worst, and there wouldn't be anything I could do to stop it._

Fang led the four of them aboard the _Lindblum_, mentioning that they would talk with Raines early in the morning. Balthier knew that meant they would all be able to get a good night's rest, and he was glad for that. He wanted nothing more than to have a good meal, perhaps a bath, and then sleep until it was time for them to move again. They were far away from the PSICOM's grasp, at least for the night.

She showed them where they'd be sleeping for the night, and the room's arrangements reminded him too much of the _Strahl_. There were five beds in the room, four in sets of bunk-beds and one set apart from the rest. Snow, like an immature teenager, claimed the top bed of the bunk he and Balthier would be sharing, while Lightning contently took the bottom bed of the bunk she and Hope were to share. Fang, a little possessively, claimed the single bed.

After taking a warm shower and having a slightly-tasteless meal (Balthier managed to not get _too_ sick, though he still felt nauseous after he ate), the five-some sat around in the small room, not minding the closeness of all their beds. Lightning sat on her bed with Hope sitting at her side, while Balthier leaned against her legs while he sat on the floor. She didn't seem to mind that, surprisingly. Snow was sitting on his top bunk with his legs swung over the edge, and Fang sat across from the other three.

"They've got Vanille and your other friend," she told them once they were all comfortable. "Found 'em in Nautilus, it seems."

"Vanille and Sazh? How'd they end up all the way over there?" Snow asked, looking toward Lightning and Hope. "I thought all of you were planning on staying together."

The pink-haired woman frowned, shaking her head. "They got left behind," she said, "They would have been safer with us, but instead they chose to walk right into the Sanctum's eager hands."

"We've got to rescue them," Hope added in, "They'll be executed if we don't do anything to help!"

"That's the plan," Fang answered, stretching out her arms. "It'd be smart for all you did get some rest tonight. We're gonna be facing against a hell of a lot of PSICOM fools tomorrow." She tilted her head, glancing at all of them. "We're gonna need a damn good plan in order to save Vanille and Sazh."

Snow scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. "I _told_ you. Heroes don't need plans."

"You're not the only hero 'round here, blondie. Remember that." She smirked, looking over to Balthier, who looked as if he'd fallen asleep against Lightning's legs. "Now ain't that cute. Seems like you're quite taken to our pirate here, Lightning, if you're letting him get so close to you."

The other woman shot her a glare. "Leave him alone. He's the only one here who really needs to get some rest," Lightning told her, "He's not a l'Cie, like the rest of us. He's-"

"Just an innocent bystander caught up in this whole l'Cie mess...Yeah, yeah. I get it already, pinky." She rolled her eyes, still smirking. "No need to get all defensive of the pirate."

As if on cue, Balthier opened his eyes and glared at the black-haired woman. "You know, I _am_ awake," he muttered, raising an eyebrow in annoyance. "I can hear every word the lot of you are saying."

Everyone went silent, apart from Snow's snickering above them. Balthier usually would have told him to be silent, but he wasn't in the mood to say anything else. He was still thinking about what had happened back in Palumpolum, how he'd seen his old comrades when he had 'died'. Then there was still the fact that he seemed to be forgetting things that had happened on his journey with them.

"Well, time to get some sleep, you lot," Fang stated, walking over to her bed and turning off the lights. "We've got a tough day tomorrow, so rest up."

Lightning pulled Balthier up from the floor by holding onto his arm, but he ignored her when he crawled into his own bed, huddling up under the covers. It wasn't the most comfortable bed in the world, but it was better than the thin mats he had been forced to sleep on back in Ivalice. He would just have to put up with it until he returned to where he rightfully belonged...wherever that was, now.

Sometime in the middle of the night (or was it early morning?), Balthier woke up to the sound of Snow's loud snoring above him and the whirring of the _Lindblum's_ engines. He was tempted to kick the other man's mattress, but he didn't want to put up with whatever he would complain about as soon as he'd wake up. Sighing weakly, Balthier sat up from his bed and looked around toward the others. Fang was tangled up in her blankets, a hand placed upon her lance that was convieniently beside her bed. Hope was facing the wall, so his back was turned to everyone else. Lightning, much like Fang, was holding her gunblade close to her as she slept soundly.

Letting out another sigh, he laid back down on his bed and closed his eyes, attempting to block out all the noise around him. But, as always, it was hard to fall back asleep once he was wide awake. And since he was completely awake, he found himself thinking about the events that had taken place before, and what would happen in the days to come.

He ran a hand through his hair as he sat up again, staring down at his bare feet. The same thoughts as before ran through his mind, and he continuously wondered if he wasn't making a mistake by helping the 'fugitive l'Cie'. Snow had been right - he was putting himself in danger by aiding them. Considering that he'd already 'died' once, and he'd suffered through multiple injuries in the course of a few days, he had already experiencing the 'danger of helping l'Cie'. It wouldn't be long until he finally did bite the dust.

And just the thought of dying made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I just need some fresh air," he told himself, standing up from his bed. He pulled on his white blouse, not bothering to button it up, and walked out the cabin door. There were still Calvary soldiers running about the place, but they paid no attention to him as he walked up the stairs to the main deck. He wondered if any of them would get any sleep that night.

When he made it out onto the viewing deck of the ship, he leaned against the railing and watching the stars pass him by above the ship. There were only a few clouds out in the sky that night, surprisingly, and nearly hundreds of feet above the _Lindblum_ was a glowing station of some sort, lighting up everything as if it were the moon. He hadn't noticed it before, but then again, he barely had the time to do anything other than running over the past few days.

"That's Eden, the fal'Cie of the Sanctum," said a calm voice behind him. Balthier turned around, not so surprised to see that Lightning had followed him. She wore just her reddish-brown halter shirt and dark brown skirt, and, of course, she had her gunblade conveniently in its case behind her legs. He took notice that she didn't look quite as threatening without all of her armor on - in fact, she looked almost...

Balthier shook his head, turning back toward the night sky. "Fal'Cie, you say?" he asked, frowning weakly. "Would I be mad if I asked it to make me a l'Cie, right at this moment?"

Lightning walked over to him, resting her hands on the railing as she, too, looked up at the floating fal'Cie. "You'd be as mad as the rest of us, then. Though, why would you even want to be a l'Cie? There's no guarantee that it would give you the same Focus as the rest of us."

"My job here _is_ to help you with your task. That's nearly the same as having it as my own, don't you think?"

"Fang told me that...Serah was the one who asked you to save Cocoon."

Balthier nodded. "And she was the one to pull me out of the mess I was in after Rosch shot me. Although," he sighed, "I could have sworn that I saw my comrades from Ivalice in that dream, as well. I could barely make out their faces, much like now, when I try to remember them."

She looked toward him, watching him in concern.

"I can't even remember how I came here, let alone how to go back. Perhaps that means I'm not meant to return to Ivalice, despite what that oaf tells me." He cast his eyes downward, looking at his hands. "I might be trapped here, in this world, never to return to where I belong. And once the lot of you complete your task, what do I do when all of you turn to crystal? Wait until the day you awaken from that slumber? It could be _years_ until you awaken, much like Fang and Vanille."

"Is this...what was bothering you earlier?" Lightning asked, studying his expression carefully, as if she wanted to understand. "You think that after all of this is done, you're going to be alone?"

"I won't be turning to crystal any time soon, that is for certain. I suppose I should be jealous of yourself and the others. You'll gain eternal life, free to live again as soon as you wake up. I've always wondered what it's like to be immortal."

She weakly smirked. "That goes against what you told me today, Balthier. I thought the leading man was immortal, that he couldn't die."

He faced her, returning her gaze. With a sad smile, he said, "No one lives forever, not even the heroes."

_Perhaps I had said too much to her, or perhaps I had said too little. Lightning wanted to understand the method to my madness at the time, but to tell the truth...Even I didn't know._

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The two of them decided that it would be best to return to the others, in case someone found them both missing and caused a panic (Lightning said Snow would be the one to do that). But Fang proved them wrong when she stood in the door way, blocking their way back to their beds.

"And where did you two go off to?" she asked, cat-like smirk on her face as always. "_Alone_, too, I should mention. There isn't anything going between you two on that the rest of us don't know about, hm?"

Lightning scowled, folding her arms across her chest. "Balthier went off on his own and I decided to follow him, to make sure that he didn't jump off the ship and kill himself," she explained, and Balthier wondered if she was telling the truth. "That reasoning enough for you?"

"Hm, maybe. Don't think I didn't notice you watching our pirate when we walked through Palumpolum, pinky."

If he could have seen her face at that time, Balthier wouldn't have been surprised if she looked embarrassed. But, judging the tone of her voice when she told Fang to let her go back to bed, Lightning was only frustrated with her - or him, too. He wasn't certain which.

"Fine, fine. We'll be getting up in a few more hours, so get some sleep," Fang muttered with a sigh. "And I for one don't want to deal with Balthier moping about because he's tired, _again_."

The three of them returned to their own beds without another word, though Balthier could have sworn that he heard Snow mumble to them to 'get the hell to sleep and shut up' or some such. In a slightly better mood, he kicked the mattress above his head, earning a loud, but tired yelp of pain from the blond. Grinning to himself, Balthier closed his eyes and finally fell asleep. He didn't dream at all that night, though he thought he could hear a voice whispering to him as he slept.

He awoke to the sound of Fang yelling at them all, or at least to Balthier and Snow. They were the only two who were still in bed, and it took them nearly ten minutes to even move. The sky pirate tiredly put his vest on over his blouse, then tied his leather boots over his feet, but it took him a few minutes just to put his goggles on his forehead correctly. Snow was having just as much trouble as him, nearly tripping over his trench coat when he tried to put it on. Hope, being just a teenager, was naive enough to mention how alike the two of them were. Fang and Snow laughed loudly while Balthier quietly told the boy to 'mind his mouth and not say such nonsense', and even Lightning couldn't help but show a small smile.

Eventually they met up with Raines' second-in-command, Rygdea, who brought them to the air ship hanger, where Raines was awaiting their arrival. Once they all stood around him, he turned on the screen before them, and some sort of news program appeared on it. The camera panned over an air ship larger than the _Lindblum_ while the news anchor spoke, "_There she is. The _Palamecia_, pride of the Sanctum Sky Fleet. This mighty flagship currently serves as a prison for the l'Cie apprehended in Nautilus._"

Balthier raised an eyebrow. So Sazh and Vanille really had been taken captive by PSICOM...

"_The l'Cie will face official sentencing upon the convoy's arrival in the capital._"

"So what's with the freak show?" Snow asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Raines glanced toward them all, answering, "So the Primarch can stand in judgment of the villainous l'Cie with their execution as the climax. The people will cheer their demise, and the fal'Cie dominion will be undisputed."

Primarch? Balthier had a feeling that was the man in charge of the Sanctum, much like how the emperor of Archadia was in charge of the Empire. "All part of the plan?" he asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, but it also presents an opportunity."

The news anchor continued their speech, "_In a display of unwavering dedication to duty the Primarch himself has boarded the _Palamecia_ and focused his personal attention on resolving the Pulse crisis._"

Fang scowled, narrowing her eyes. "They're baiting us," she said, "Trying to draw us out."

"Bait, huh?" Snow asked with a tilt of his head.

"Yeah, that's right," Lightning commented from where she stood between Balthier and Hope. "Here are you friends. Come and get 'em."

"Well, if they're daring us to perform a rescue," Balthier added in, smirking. "it's up to the leading man to answer their call."

Raines turned off the screen, turning his attention to Rygdea as he approached them. "All righty, bets are on the table," the second-in-command stated, grinning. "We leave when you're ready. I'll be standing by."

They all went in separate directions, but Balthier stood back with Fang when she showed no signs of going anywhere. He noticed how tense she looked, so he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smirked at her. "Something bothering you?" he asked, "You're not usually so quiet, you know."

Fang rolled her eyes, returning his smirk with her own. "Careful, pirate. Don't wanna get too close to me. Lightning'll have my head if I dare to even touch you," she warned him, slowly pulling his arm off of her shoulders.

"What do you mean-"

She turned away from him, ignoring his almost-question. "So, you said you know how to fly air ships? Think you can handle being our pilot for this trip?"

Balthier scoffed. "I'm a sky pirate, remember? I can commandeer any ship when I need to make a quick escape. So don't doubt my abilities for one moment, woman."

"Still feisty, huh?" She looked back at him, grinning wildly. "C'mon, let's get this show on the road."

He followed her and the others to where Rygdea was waiting for them. Lightning, it seemed, purposely walked beside him just to separate him and Fang. He let out a weak sigh, shaking his head. He'd have to listen to Fang's warnings more often.

Rygdea stopped them in front a small transport air ship, resting his hands at his sides. "This baby back here's a PSICOM vessel. It'll deliver you to the _Palamecia_."

"Oh, we're cargo now?" Snow teasingly asked, half-grinning.

"A parting gift to our rotting government. Take those PSICOM guys apart."

Lightning raised an eyebrow in surprise. "And we're supposed to take on all of them?" she asked, "I think the whole division's on board."

"I don't care how many lackeys they've got," Fang stated, her determined expression returning to her face. "Bring 'em on! Vanille's in there."

Hope looked up at the sound of their other companion's name. "I'm sure she's fine," he said, and then he frowned slightly. "Vanille's tougher than I could ever be..."

The pink-haired woman faced him, concerned. "Hope, are you scared?"

"Yeah, I'm terrified. But, I'll be okay. Because I have you, Fang, Balthier and this guy," he said as he acknowledged them all. "We're all in this mess. We've got to stick together."

Rygdea chuckled, shaking his head. "Right, enough with the bonding. It's go time," he said, and then he turned toward Balthier. "Fang here said you're gonna pilot the lot of you to the _Palamecia_. You remember how to pilot an air ship?"

Balthier nodded. It had been a while since he'd piloted any air ship, even his precious _Strahl_. "I've been doing this for years. No need to fret," he answered, smirking. Beside him, Lightning sighed weakly and took his arm, leading him toward the transport-ship before he could gloat any longer.

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_Sitting at the controls of an air ship reminded me how much I had wanted to return to Ivalice. It was similar to the ones back there, but it was missing one thing: Fran, always there, sitting at my side._

As soon as they were all in the ship, Balthier sat down in the pilot's seat and placed his hands on the controls. Now that he was finally somewhere that was familiar to him, he was beginning to fear that he had forgotten how to fly. It seemed like it had been so long since he'd last piloted the _Strahl_, despite the fact that he'd only been in Cocoon for nearly a week. Fang clapped a hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

"Just thought I'd mention something to ya," she said, watching as the large doors opened before them and revealed the sky. "PSICOM's lackeys don't have a sophisticated and proper sounding voice like you, so you might want to change that for the time being."

"What if it's a girl asking for the verification code?" Snow asked with a grin from beside her. "Balthier could just _persuade_ her with his suave voice and we'd be good to go!" All of the sudden, he yelped out in pain. Lightning had punched him in the shoulder for making an immature comment, no doubt.

Balthier cracked a smirk and turned on the engine of the ship. Not too long later, they were in the sky and flying toward the _Palamecia_. Behind him, Fang narrowed her eyes as they watched a few PSICOM ships block their way to the main ship. She touched his shoulder again, leaning close to his ear and whispering, "Show time."

With a nod, he pressed the comm-link button on the controls. "What's the problem?" he asked, using an accent much like Fang's unique one. He kept his eyes ahead on the ships in front of them, growing tense as they approached them.

"_Stand by. Verifying identification code._"

"You let me land this ship, or I'll crash her into your _arse_!" the sky pirate snapped, and behind him Snow struggled to not burst into a fit of laughter. Balthier turned around and faced the rest of them, smirking. "That sound Sanctum enough for you?"

"Sounded just like the idiotic fools they are!" Fang replied, leaning against his chair.

"Always here to entertain, darling."

The soldier's voice returned, sounding slightly frightened. "_Code verified. You're free to dock_._ All clear, welcome aboard!_"

Balthier grinned darkly, steering their transport ship toward the _Palamecia_. "About damn time," he breathed.

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_Balthier, you're still worrying me. First you see things, and now you're hearing things? That can't be good, hun..._


	12. Hellfire

**Author's Note:** _Yay! Vanille and Sazh! I've missed you since chapter 4. :D_

_Thank you, __**Joshua Chung**__, for making me laugh when I wasn't in the best of moods. :)_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Twelve

Hellfire

_Little did we know that we were walking into what seemed like the pits of Hell._

Lightning led the group off the ship, after dragging Balthier away from the controls (he was convinced that he wanted to stay aboard the transport), to the center of the small hangar. As soon as they paused for a few seconds, sirens rang out all around them and soldiers ran into the small area.

_"Code Red! Repeat: Code Red! Attention all crew: this is not a drill! Code Red!_"

Balthier watched with curiosity as the soldiers aimed their guns at them, wondering if there was some way they had known that they would be coming. "Welcome aboard, indeed," he murmured, putting a hand on the hilt of one of his sheathed swords. He looked toward Fang and Hope, then to Snow and Lightning, the latter nodding to him. He then drew both of his swords, smirking when he saw the soldiers become tense.

"All right!" Snow yelled, "Let's tear 'em up!"

"We're here for Vanille and Sazh," Lightning reminded them, also giving away their plan to their enemies. "Stay focused!"

She ran forward, taking out two of the soldiers in one attack. Snow followed suit, as did Fang, and they disappeared amongst the soldiers. Hope hung back with Balthier, the two of them casting magick to aid their allies. Hope focused on curative magicks while the sky pirate cast mostly black magick on their enemies, despite how much he may have disliked doing so. No one else may have noticed it, but he was casting magick on only the enemies that were targeting Lightning.

Once most of the soldiers were dispatched, Balthier gave up on magick and ran toward the other three, standing close to Lightning once she'd taken care of any soldiers nearby her. She gave him a confused look, but he merely winked at her.

"No need to fret," he told her, a cocky smirk on his face. "Your _real_ hero is here."

She glared at him, but as soon as she glanced behind him her eyes widened. Before she could warn him, a soldier clubbed Balthier in the back of the neck with their gun, and he fell limply to the floor without another word.

The next thing he knew, Lightning was tilting his head back and forcing the contents of a potion vial down his throat despite his weak protests. He reluctantly swallowed the vile tasting liquid, coughing as soon as she let him go. Snow, Fang and Hope were fending off the rest of the PSICOM soldiers, but from what Balthier could see through his blurry vision, more soldiers arrived soon after more were killed.

"Looks like they wanna play!" Fang exclaimed, not minding the seemingly endless battle. Hope, on the other hand, looked as if he was going to collapse if he was forced to use up any more magick.

"No kidding," Snow replied, cracking his knuckles. "So, where to?"

She pointed toward an elevator-lift above their heads. "Right up there."

Lightning begrudgingly pulled a slightly dizzy Balthier to his feet, her scowl strengthening when he leaned against her for support. Why was it that potions always made him feel drunk, he wondered. "Then let's go," she called out to the others, draping one of Balthier's arms over her shoulders so she could help him walk. "Fight who you must and leave the rest!"

The others understood and rushed toward the elevator, knocking down any enemies in their way. Lightning and Balthier followed soon after, and as soon as they were on the lift with them, Fang kicked the lever and sent them up further into the air ship.

"This is turning out to be a damn good rescue," Balthier muttered, rubbing his forehead when Lightning pulled away from him. "If I get knocked unconscious one more time, I may just kill someone."

"Tch, you're not the only one to complain," she said out of the corner of her mouth. "We're the ones stuck taking care of you whenever you're down."

He stared at her for a moment, then looked across the way to the sky outside the window. Something about Lightning confused him to no end. Whenever they were alone, she treated him as if they had known each other all their lives, comforting him whenever he needed someone to talk with. But whenever they were in battle or on the move, she acted as if she didn't care if he lived or died.

Women. He'd never understand them.

"What do we do now?" Hope asked the other four when the lift stopped moving. They must have arrived at their destination. "If they knew that we were coming, they're bound to catch us sooner or later."

"We'll figure things out as we move," Lightning snapped, walking out the doors as soon as they opened. Balthier sympathetically patted the young boy's shoulder as he walked past, shaking his head.

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Snow led the way through the long hall, with Lightning and Fang following close behind, and stopped as soon as they reached an open area. He peered around the corner just as Hope and Balthier caught up to the rest of them, and saw a small group of soldiers already waiting for them. Not thinking about what he was doing, he yelled out to them, "Let us through! Block our way, you die!"

Fang gaped at him, narrowing her eyes. "You _trying_ to get 'em angry?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest. Balthier had to agree with her - that man didn't seem to think before he acted.

"Thought maybe they'd run. There's been enough blood spilled."

Lightning sighed angrily and turned toward him. "You thought they'd run?" she snarled, "Let me refresh your memory. Those soldiers think they're protecting Cocoon from l'Cie. The fal'Cie have them all brain washed."

He slammed his fist into the wall, gritting his teeth together. "Fal'Cie...I have had it! We cannot let this go on!"

An alarm sounded off around them, and a voice on the speaker soon followed. "_Attention all crew: Code Green! Repeat: Code Green! Security forces stand by! Hostile forces on board, Code Green!_"

"See what you did?" Lightning yelled at the blond man, glaring at him. "Now they really know we're here!"

"What do we do now?" Hope asked, looking at all of them with worry.

Snow looked toward Balthier with a focused look on his face, and the sky pirate, in turn, nodded. "Let us heroes handle them," the taller man stated. "You guys go ahead after Sazh and Vanille. We'll distract them."

"A distraction? Lovely," Balthier said under his breath before running off after Snow down the hall way. Lightning watched him as he left, an almost surprised look on her face. Fang walked up behind her, tilting her head in question.

"You okay, pinky?" she asked, glancing between the other woman and where Balthier had just been.

Lightning blinked as if to regain her composure and nodded, looking a tad bit flustered. "I'm fine," she coldly stated, "Let's go and let them be complete fools on their own." She walked past Fang down the other end of the hall with Hope following close behind.

The black-haired l'Cie rolled her eyes, sighing loudly. "Figures. Now what would he say to that? 'The leading man always gets the girl', eh?" Laughing weakly, she took off running after the others.

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Balthier cautiously peered around a corner just as Snow caught up to him, and he scowled when he caught sight of a large group of soldiers in the meeting room. He raised a hand to stop the taller man from walking forward and quietly told him, "Stay right here."

"What-" He stopped talking, seeing the odd glint in the sky pirate's eyes. He nodding in understanding, pulling out his heart-shaped crystal from his pocket and handing it to Balthier. "You be careful, all right? I'm not sure if they'll listen to anyone else but me."

"That's the fun in it, Ice," Balthier answered before casually walking out into the meeting room with a crooked smirk on his face. He then held his arms up, pretending to surrender to the PSICOM soldiers, who had just noticed that he was there. "Here's your intruder, men," he told them, "L'Cie, outsider - whatever you want to call me. However, as an outsider, I am able to command some magick of my own." He threw the heart-shaped crystal into the air, then yelled out, "Shiva, to me!"

He then grabbed one of his swords and threw it at the crystal, shattering it in mid air. The entire room grew cold, and in the icy wind the Shiva Sisters appeared in front of him. With a wave of their hands, they summoned an ever stronger wind and sent it toward the soldiers, ice crystals forming around them and freezing them in place. Snow whistled, walking out from behind the wall and standing beside Balthier.

"Nice show you put on there," he commented, grinning. "'Here's your intruder'? Even I believed you were surrendering."

Balthier smirked. "What can I say?" he said, just as the Shiva Sisters blew him a seductive kiss before fading from sight. "The leading man is always ready to entertain."

Laughing weakly, Snow nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Knowing that they'd held off the soldiers for a short time, the two of them ran off in the same direction they'd come from, all the while hoping Lightning hadn't left them behind. But, to his luck, Snow had gotten lost at some point during the time they were on the run. Either that, or Balthier himself was lost. At that point in time, he didn't really care. As long as it was quiet enough for him to be able to think up some plan of escape, he was perfectly fine with being alone.

Only, he wasn't alone. Without knowing where he was going, he had stumbled upon a group of soldiers in some sort of break room.

"Dammit, Snow," he cursed, "Must you always disappear at times like this?"

The alarms went off again, and as expected, a soldier spoke over the speaker, "_Intruders on board! I repeat: intruders on board!"_

Balthier nearly grinned. "Must be doing the right thing, then. These PSICOM fools are getting nervous already." The soldiers pulled out their weapons, cautiously walking toward him. "Ah, you want to dance?" he asked them, pulling out his swords. "Then let's dance!"

Not even giving him a chance to fight any of them, a gun was pointed at his head from behind and a gruff voice told him to drop his weapons or die. Balthier did as he was told, with reluctance, of course.

"Might as well play along for now," he stated, allowing himself to be led away to the brig. He only hoped the others were having more luck than he was...

**

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**

The soldier shoved him into a seemingly empty, but large cell, and Balthier fell on his knees against the hard floor. Some of the soldiers laughed as the door closed, saying, "Won't be long till we find the rest of you, l'Cie!"

Out of habit, Balthier stood up straight and yelled to them, "For the last time, I'm not a damn l'Cie!" But the door had closed before they could even hear him, so he gave up protesting any longer. As he turned around, however, there was a high-pitched squeal and his vision was blocked by a blurr of red hair as arms tightly wrapped around his chest.

"Balthier!" Vanille cheerfully cried, burying her face into his chest. "You're all right!"

Still confused about what on earth was going on, he patted the top of her head, feeling the slightest bit awkward. He looked around, nodding to Sazh, who sat on one of the benches on the other side of the cell. "Unfortunately," he told her, "I won't be for much longer. As soon as we reach the city, we're to be executed. All of us are."

She let go of him, wiping the hopefully happy tears from her eyes. "The others will find us, won't they?"

Sazh scoffed. "If he was caught, then no doubt the others will be, too."

"I _allowed_ myself to be caught," the sky pirate corrected, "Snow was with me earlier, but we were separated. With his luck, he'll stumble upon this place in no time."

"Well, then let's hope you're right."

Vanille told him of what had happened to both her and Sazh: how they'd found the man's son in Nautilus, only to watch him turn to crystal, tamed Sazh's Eidolon, and were captured by the PSICOM colonel, Jihl Nabaat. How they managed to stay alive for that long, Balthier would never know.

After he'd told of what had happened to them, her eyes went wide when he mentioned Fang. "You were with her?" she excitedly asked, and he feared that she would hug him yet again out of joy. Luckily, she kept to her side of the bench.

"She's here now, with Light and the others," he replied, "Fang's more than determined to find you, so it's likely that nothing will stop her until she finds you."

"Oh, if only we could get out of here and find them!" Vanille pouted, slouching against the wall.

As if it was a miracle, alarms sounded yet again, and the door of the cell opened. Soldiers bursted into the room, and one of them went toward Vanille and Balthier. "Get up! You're being moved!" he said to them, grabbing at Vanille and pulling her to her feet.

Of course, Balthier strongly disliked seeing a young girl being manhandled by brute soldiers. He pushed the man away from her, protectively standing in front of her and glaring at all the soldiers that had surrounded them. The same soldier that he'd knocked down to the ground stood back up, charging right for them.

"L'Cie scum!"

Out of nowhere, a baby chocobo flew at the man and clawed at his eyes before he could strike Balthier. Taking the chance, Balthier hurriedly cast a Flare spell and sent it directly at the group of soldiers, and they were all burnt to a crisp. He shook his head at the charcoal smell, and looked over to Sazh once the smoke had cleared. The chocobo chick was on his shoulder, happily chirping at the other two.

"A chocobo?" Balthier stated, surprised that Cocoon even had them. Perhaps their worlds weren't so different, after all.

"Oh! You have them in your world, too?" Vanille asked, smiling up at him.

"Yes, though I've never seen one so small before..."

The chocobo chick flew into Sazh's afro, most likely where it had been hiding all that time. "All right, time to split," the black man stated, looking over to them. "Not run. There's a difference," he made a point of saying to Vanille.

She nodded. "Gotcha!"

The three of them headed out of the cell, and much to their surprise there weren't any soldiers around there to stop them from where they were going. They reached another elevator lift, and Balthier stopped to examine its controls where Sazh and Vanille talked amongst themselves. Just like before, an alarm rang throughout the ship and the voice boomed out, "_Code Purple! I repeat: Code Purple! Security breach! All units on alert! Code Purple!_"

"I suppose that's our cue to leave," Balthier murmured, turning back toward the lift controls. "We'd best make for the upper level of the ship. No doubt that's where the others are headed."

"You seem to know what you're doing, so I'll just follow your lead," Sazh answered, and Vanille nodded in agreement.

They took the lift up to yet another hallway, and despite the multiple soldiers and machines they came across, they managed to reach what seemed like a door to the starboard section of the _Palamecia_. Unfortunately, it was locked. Balthier took a risk and cast another Flare spell at the door, forcing it open with a large and loud explosion. He calmly walked through it, fixing the gloves on his hands, and found himself looking right at the stunned faces of Lightning and the others.

"You sure know how to make an entrance, pirate," Fang said with a low whistle. "Where the hell have you been?"

"You should be thankful," he answered her, turning back and looking toward Vanille and Sazh, who had just walked out of the destroyed doorway. "I found something rather important to you."

Vanille practically ran to her friend, embracing her. Fang held the young girl close to her, burying her face in her hair, and after a moment she let go of the redhead and got down on her knees. Without warning, she lifted up Vanille's skirt to look at what was hopefully her brand (no one was certain, at first). Balthier, embarrassed for once, turned his head away from the pair, his gaze meeting with Lightning's. Unfortunately, she didn't look too happy to see him.

"You've still got time," Fang murmured, standing back up.

"Fang...There's something I need to tell you," Vanille weakly said, but before she could say what she wanted Fang wrapped her arms around her again, silencing her.

"Makin' me worry like that. We'll talk later, missy."

Balthier turned back toward them, watching them with a slight sad expression on his face.

_Fang managed to find what she was looking for after countless days of searching. I could never be as dedicated as she, despite all the things I wanted._

"What's wrong?" Snow asked him, raising an eyebrow.

The sky pirate blinked in confusion. "Hm?" Everyone was looking at him then, waiting for him to say something. "Oh, ah...Not a thing," he told them all, "Well, so...What's the next thing on our list?"

Snow punched his fists together, grinning like a mad-man. "Toppling the Sanctum!"

Sazh took a step back, shocked. "Seriously?" he exclaimed.

"He's serious," Lightning replied, brushing past Balthier and walking toward the rest of the party. "We're gonna take down the Sanctum and give Cocoon back to the people. The fal'Cie have called the shots long enough."

"If we pull this off, it'll be a miracle," Hope added in, shrugging his shoulders.

Fang stepped forward, smirking as usual. "Well, good thing Lady Luck's on our side," she told them with confidence.

All of the sudden, flying fiends soared above them and the air ship. One of them flew directly at them, only to pull away at the last moment back to the sky. Snow groaned in annoyance and murmured, "You know, this is getting really old." Balthier figured that before he and the other two had showed up, the rest of them had done battle against one of those dragons.

Fang ignored him and ran forward with Vanille close behind her. "Check this out!" she exclaimed, pulling out her lance. "A miracle - Gran Pulse style!"

The rest of them could only watch as the other two l'Cie managed to tame one of the dragons by using some sort of technique that even Balthier was envious of. He made a mental note to ask them to teach him that trick once everything was over. Fang stabbed her lance into the back of the fiend, grinning as she looked over to the rest of the group. "C'mon, you lot! Haven't got all day, you know!" she yelled to them.

Vanille grabbed Balthier's hand, despite the annoyed look Lightning gave the two of them, and pulled him along with her as she ran. "Let's get on!" she happily cheered, grinning up at him.

Again, he wondered: what had he gotten himself into?

**

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**

_Woot, the gang's back together again!_

_I feel sorry for Balthier. He just gets dragged from one mess to another...Haha!_


	13. Puppet Of The Gods

**Author's Note:** _This chapter is where things start to make sense. Which, in turn, means more angst for our dear leading man._

_I'm so glad you're still reading this story and giving me feedback, __**Joshua Chung**__! You're the only reason I keep writing these chapters so quickly! :)_

**

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Thirteen

Puppet of the Gods

Although Fang seemed to have tamed the dragon, Balthier wondered if it had purposely taken them to the middle of the Sanctum's Sky Fleet, therefore gaining unwanted attention. As soon as they were in the air, the enemy ships opened fire on them, and almost immediately Fang started laughing. She had to have been insane, or at least some-what mad.

"Believe in Lady Luck now?" she asked, turning her head toward the others, mainly Sazh, who at that time was clinging onto the dragon's tail as if his life depended on it.

"Yeah - Lady _Bad_ Luck!"

Balthier wasn't enjoying the ride, either. He sat between Vanille and Hope, tightly holding onto the girl's arm as if he felt he was going to fall off and, well, die. She grinned at him, almost laughing when she saw his eyes widen at the sight of the endless sky beneath them.

Snow, on the other hand, was as optimistic as ever. "Time to Purge a Primarch!" he called out to them all, as if he was reminding them of what their newest task was.

"You got it!" Fang answered, and she steered the dragon down into the middle of the air ship gathering, avoiding all the bullets flying toward them. Balthier clung to Vanille's arm even more as they flew downward, tempted to yell at the insane woman for trying to kill them all. But, he couldn't seem to find his voice. Or, he was afraid that if he opened his mouth he'd end up getting sick, again.

Lightning perked up when she saw the Primarch's ship below them. "Let's go!" she told them, "Jump!"

Scratch that thought - _both_ of them were insane. Balthier tightly shut his eyes before letting go of Vanille, gaining barely enough courage to jump off the dragon with the others. He only hoped that he wouldn't break anything in the fall, or when he landed.

_I had my doubts when the journey had first begun. Yet I had a feeling that if I stayed with them, I would have the chance to change their world and my own. For the better._

**

* * *

**

Lightning was the first to get back to her feet once they were inside the air ship, her eyes glancing upon everyone else as they stood up, too. Fang helped Vanille stand up, keeping her hand on her even after they were both standing. "Everyone still alive?" the pink-haired l'Cie asked, folding her arms across her chest. Everyone nodded, from what she could see. "All right, then let's get a move on."

Looking around, Snow asked, "Where's Balthier?"

Everyone turned to see Balthier on his hands and knees, covering his mouth. "Give me a moment," he groaned, shaking his head. "I'll be fine...once I stop feeling the urge to vomit..."

Fang stifled a laugh. "And here I thought you could handle anything, _leading man_," she said to him, grinning.

He glared at her, but moving his head up made the nausea become worse. "I _can_! I just...have a very weak stomach."

Eventually he felt better with the help of Vanille's curative magicks, and ignoring the amused look Fang was giving him he stood beside Lightning as she looked down the hall of stairs. She kept her eyes forward as the others joined them, and stated with a stern voice, "Dysley's through there."

"Determined, aren't you?" Balthier asked, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Good to hear. But don't act too quickly without thinking. You might regret it later on."

She rolled her eyes, but there was a weak smile on her face when she looked toward him. "Like I need you to tell me."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, not saying a single word to each other. Snow uneasily glanced back and forth between the two of them, narrowing his eyes. But he, too, didn't say anything. Vanille, however, couldn't keep her mouth shut and said something on the lines of Lightning and Balthier 'wasting time staring lovingly at each other'. The sky pirate glared at her before walking forward, muttering under his breath. With that, it was time to get the show on the road.

On the way to Dysley's chamber, nothing seemed to stand in Lightning's way. She was as dedicated as ever, if not more, to the battle and the task that was on her mind. She took down any enemies that were in her way, and at one point she even defended Vanille when a soldier went to attack her. Perhaps she was finally beginning to think of all of them as more than just people who would get in her way.

Sazh led the group through a large door way, and once they were inside Balthier saw a old man dressed in robes that reminded him far too much of the emperor of Archadia. Beside him stood a cruel looking woman with long, curly light brown hair.

"Been looking for you, Nabaat!" Sazh yelled as the group stood in the center of the chamber. Fang stood close to Vanille, while Snow protectively stood in front of Hope. Balthier and Lightning stood close by each other, as well, but it seemed as if Lightning was watching over him more than he was of her.

Jihl jumped down and gracefully landed in front of them, holding out her spear toward them as Sazh aimed one of his guns at her face. "Your Eminence, please escape," she told the old man; Dysley. "I'll cover your retreat."

Dysley watched her carefully, smirking, almost. "Why don't you leave, Jihl. Or rather, take your leave." His gaze then fell upon Balthier, his blue eyes narrowing. "Humans have no place here."

The female colonel turned around, eyes wide. "What? Your Eminence!"

Electric energy shot out from the floor beneath her feet, shocking her entire body, and she fell not a moment later. Balthier flinched as he watched her die, getting a bad feeling about what was going on at that time.

"What?" Sazh exclaimed, "Magick?"

Chuckling, Dysley rose up from his throne and released dark magick from his hands toward all the soldiers, all the _humes_, around the room. They were all killed as soon as the magick hit them, falling to the floor when they died. Then, without warning, the dark magick came toward Balthier, and he fell to his knees, yelling out in pain as he tried to escape from the electric energy. Vanille rushed to him, but something forced her to stay away from him.

"Balthier!" she cried, covering her mouth with both hands.

Snow clenched his fists, forcing himself to look away from the suffering sky pirate and towards the Primarch. "Monster!" he yelled, angered. "People are not yours to use!"

Dysley kept chuckling, floating down and standing before them. "What else does one do with tools?" he asked, smiling darkly.

Running forward, the blond l'Cie yelled out when he tried to attack the old man, only to be sent flying backwards by an unknown force. He landed by the others, wincing from the fall.

"Cocoon is a factory built by the fal'Cie," Dysley continued, acting as if nothing had happened. "A factory for the mass production of human thralls."

Snow stood up, regaining his strength. "Not anymore, it's not!"

"What can mere men do?" Dysley raised a hand again, and more dark magick shocked Balthier, forcing him to cry out even louder in agony as he curled up into a fetal position. "Without our help, death is all of which you're capable. You saw the fools. A mindless mob drunk on fear of a few l'Cie."

Clutching her gunblade in her hand, Lightning looked down at Balthier, narrowing her eyes as he continued to unsuccessfully escape the pain. She scowled, turning her head toward Dysley. "If only they knew a l'Cie was the one filling their glasses!" she yelled, holding her gunblade in front of herself defensively.

"L'Cie?" The Primarch laughed, "You mean me? Oh, child, perish the thought!" As he rose up into the air, he held out his arms, laughing. "I am more than that!"

A bright enveloped them all, blinding them for a moment, and once it faded away a fal'Cie appeared before the group. Balthier laid unconscious in front of them, simply lying there as if he were asleep.

"I am fal'Cie. My name is Barthandelus," said the monster that was once Dysley. "Voice of the Sanctum, and Lord-Sovereign of the Cocoon fal'Cie. Your kind feared the darkness, so we gave you light. You begged us for the Purge, and did it not come to pass? Now you spurn our counsel?" It laughed, "You must learn your place!"

Snow turned toward Vanille and Hope, knowing that they couldn't handle the battle that was upon them. "You two, make sure Balthier's okay!" he told them, and they nodded in understanding. While they drug Balthier away from the fal'Cie, Snow stepped forward with the other four, glaring at Barthandelus. "You're going down, monster! Your reign over Cocoon is over!"

He launched himself at the fal'Cie, summoning strong magick on his hands and sending it toward their enemy. Beside him, Lightning jumped into the air and stabbed her gunblade into one of Barthandelus' faces, gritting her teeth together when the attack rebounded and hit her instead. She landed back on the floor, allowing Fang to help her get back to her feet. Sazh raised his guns and shot multiple times at the fal'Cie, but the bullets seemed to have little effect on him. He stepped back with the others, uneasily staring as Barthandelus began to summon dark magick.

"This ain't good!" he stated, aiming his guns again. "We may have killed one fal'Cie before this, but I don't think we're gonna be so lucky this time!"

Fang twirled her lance above her head, narrowing her eyes when she took a step forward. "Yeah? Then how 'bout you three summon your little helpers to give us some damn luck!"

Lightning took the hint and pulled out her rose-shaped crystal, pausing for a moment before she threw it into the air. While she summoned Odin, Snow and Sazh called for their Eidolons, the Shiva Sisters and Brynhildr. While the l'Cie and their Eidolons held off the fal'Cie, Fang rushed over to where Vanille and Hope were watching over Balthier behind one of the walls. She knelt down in front of the sky pirate, and Vanille spoke first after healing his wounds.

"I'm not sure how much the magick hurt him, but," she said, biting her lower lip, "I think he's waking up."

Fang grabbed his chin, tilting his head to the side as he barely opened his eyes. She snapped her fingers in front of his face, trying to help him wake up. "C'mon, you pirate," she muttered under her breath. "Don't you dare give up this early on!"

Balthier squinted his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching weakly. "Fran?" he murmured in a slurred voice. "That you?"

"Don't know anyone by that name, sorry, mate." Fang raised an eyebrow, then turned toward the other two. "He's a little off, but he'll live." She lightly slapped his cheek, then draped one of his arms over her shoulders as she helped him stand. "Can you walk?"

Tiredly, he nodded. "What'd I miss?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"Well, turns out Dysley's really a fal'Cie, which explains why he declared his undying hatred for humans and nearly killed you. The others are holding him off, for now, with their Eidolons."

Both Vanille and Hope ran forward to help the others in anyway they could, while Fang stayed back with the half-conscious Balthier. As soon as they were alone, the sky pirate told her in a quiet voice, "I saw something...strange when I was out cold. A vision, it seemed." He narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember. "It doesn't make sense, though. I think...I think _I_ destroyed Cocoon."

She raised both eyebrows at him. "I think you've gone mad, pirate," she remarked, not believing him. "All this time you've been talking 'bout saving Cocoon 'cause that girl told you to, and now you claim you're going to destroy it? What the hell 'bout that vision makes you think that?"

"...Then perhaps I have gone mad."

There was a loud yell from Barthandelus, and it faded away from sight as the others dismissed their Eidolons. Lightning turned around as soon as she knew they were safe and rushed to Fang and Balthier. She seemed relieved to see that he was all right, letting Fang go to Vanille and helping him walk over to the others.

Snow walked forward, staring at where the fal'Cie had just been. "A fal'Cie running the Sanctum," he murmured, most likely talking to himself.

"Then, I guess it wasn't Eden controlling things after all," Hope stated, looking toward everyone.

"As I said..." Everyone looked up at the sound of Dysley's voice, and he appeared before them, looking completely unharmed. Balthier scowled from where he stood leaning against Lightning. "I am Lord-Sovereign."

Sazh scoffed, "Guess fal'Cie don't go down as easy as the rest of us..."

"Ease is not the issue. You have not fought to win. You should know quite well already the sure way of dispatching our kind," His eyes gazed upon them, mainly Balthier and Fang. "Ragnarok."

"What's Ragnarok?" the sky pirate asked, looking toward the others as he stepped away from Lightning. They looked as if they didn't know either, but Vanille seemed a tad bit more on edge.

All of the sudden, Fang cried out in pain, clutching her brand. Vanille rushed to her partner's side, worriedly checking to see what was wrong, and touched her hand to calm her down. Fang relaxed a bit, though she still looked uneasy.

"Pitiful l'Cie, you've forgotten your Focus," Dysley said, and then he pointed to them all; one by one. "Ragnarok is the beast one of you must become in order to lay waste on Cocoon. You had the dream. One among you will become that monstrosity, defeat Orphan, and destroy Cocoon."

Lightning raised an eyebrow. "Orphan?"

"The font of Eden's power. Orphan fuels Eden with strength, and Eden in turn sustains you and the rest of our kind. Destroy Orphan, and you'll release a force such as this world has never seen. Cocoon will be torn asunder!"

Balthier scowled. "And, Ivalice?" he asked, growing impatient.

The Primarch laughed quietly. "Ah, yes. The world controlled by the Occuria. There is naught left for you there, human." He gazed upon the sky pirate with his piercing blue eyes. "You are their tool - their mindless puppet to bring destruction to both worlds."

He clenched his fists, and Snow held him back from stepping any closer to Dysley. "You're _lying_!" he yelled.

"Am I? You will see the truth, human. Soon enough."

Fang cast her eyes downward, thinking out loud. "...So if I did that, destroyed Orphan..."

The old man suddenly appeared right in front of her. "Your Focus will be fulfilled."

Lightning pulled her gunblade and slashed at him, but he disappeared before she could even hit him. "So what?" she snapped, "Who says it has to be?"

"Serah asked us to save Cocoon before she turned to crystal," Snow said, stepping forward. "Save it. And that's what we're gonna do! Serah was trying to tell us how to complete our Focus, and we have-"

Dysley's cruel laughing interrupted him. "Allow me to help you see the truth of things. The moment you arrived, your friend wept crystal tears. This was because her Focus required that you be brought together, that you lead the puppet to his destiny. That girl did nothing but assemble the tools for Cocoon's destruction." Snow cast his eyes downward, while Balthier remained tense. "Did it never occur to you? Or did you simply refuse to countenance the thought?"

The air ship suddenly began to shake, and everyone but Dysley struggled to remain standing. Above them, the owl-familiar glided toward its master.

"If you will not face the truth, then face the peril of your plight!" As the Primarch began to disappear, the owl transformed into a small air ship. "Run, l'Cie! See how stark reality is!"

When he faded away completely, the _Palamecia_ continued to shake. Lightning ran forward, and then turned toward the rest of them. "Come on!" she yelled, urging them forward. They followed her onto the air ship, not knowing what would happen next.

**

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**

In the sky, the _Palamecia_ began to crumble and fall to pieces, and Balthier, having regained his complete consciousness piloted the small air ship away from the destruction. However, as soon as they were away from the larger ship, their own ship stopped in mid air.

"This isn't good!" he yelled, trying to regain control of the ship. "The controls - they're jammed!"

"What?" Lightning exclaimed.

Snow sighed in frustration, "I knew it was a trap!"

Hope leaned over Balthier's chair, pointing to another small air ship ahead of them. "Something's coming!"

The sky pirate squinted his eyes, only to frantically try to steer the ship away a second later. He managed to turn the ship around before the missiles could hit them. "Hang on! This might get a little dicey!" He steered the ship down below the crumbling _Palamecia_, trying to shake the other off the trail, but it only kept following them. More missiles were shot toward them, but that time their air ship moved away on its own and fired back.

"What the hell kind of a ship is this?" Sazh asked, "Fighting on its own?"

"Can't we do something?" Hope turned toward Balthier, who was still trying to figure out what was going on. "We can't just let that guy keep chasing us!"

Balthier scowled. "I'm not in the best of moods right now, boy! Do you think I can do a damn thing?"

They flew toward the city below them, and as they passed by its wall a shield appeared behind them, blocking the other air ship's path. Thinking that they were safe, everyone began to relax, and Balthier turned his head toward them, grinning weakly. But, Vanille's eyes widened and she pointed to something behind him.

"Balthier, look out!"

He turned around, only to see that they were headed right toward a building. He tried to steer the ship away, but they flew right into it, disappearing from sight.

**

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**

The group stood outside of the air ship, looking around the odd chamber they found themselves trapped in. It was dark, for the most part, and smelled the slightest bit rotten. Lightning wandered around while the others hung back, and she asked in a quiet, confused voice, "Where are we?"

Vanille was the first to answer, looking around as well. "Looks like a piece...of Pulse," she replied, staring in wonder.

"Pulse?" Sazh stated, "What, you mean like the Bodhum Vestige? Something like that, this close to Eden..."

Fang shook her head, walking toward her partner. "Yeah, well, what I don't understand is, after the Purge, and all that l'Cie paranoia..." She scowled, "Why keep a chunk of Pulse under the floor boards?"

Balthier shrugged his shoulders, leaning against the wall of the air ship. "Perhaps," he said, "this is what that bastard of a fal'Cie wanted us to see..."

"A place for l'Cie to accept their fate," Lightning added in, walking toward him.

"Do you really think our Focus is what Dysley said it is?" Hope asked, looking up from his hands. "Become Ragnarok?"

Sazh sighed, "Destroy the fal'Cie Eden, shatter both Cocoon and Balthier's world. That's what the vision's telling us, more or less." He shook his head. "So, we're back to square one. Our of luck."

The sky pirate frowned, casting his eyes downward. He remembered the vision he had after he'd been tortured by Dysley - the vision of Cocoon's, or Ivalice's, destruction. "Think again," he stated, looking up at them all. "Dysley said that one of _us_ is to become the beastie. You need to figure out who, and start from there."

The young boy blinked slowly. "But...who?"

Everyone was silent, all thinking of what Dysley may have given them a hint toward. After a few seconds of silence, Lightning stood up straight and sighed. "...Balthier," she whispered, and when she looked toward him their eyes met.

The black man gaped in shock. "Him? _He's_ our Ragnarok?"

"It...makes sense," Vanille agreed, pursing her lips. "Why else would Balthier be taken from his world and sent here? And, Dysley said that...he was the puppet sent by his own gods to destroy Cocoon and his home."

"Ah. Guess that makes _some_ sense..."

Fang narrowed her eyes, stepping toward Lightning and Balthier. "So," she said, reaching for her lance, "maybe we gotta get rid of him to solve our problem!"

The pink-haired woman stood between them, her aqua eyes intensely glaring at the other woman. "No, Balthier's one of us. We aren't turning against each other - not now!"

"But if he's the one who's gonna destroy our home..." Sazh's voice trailed off, unable to finish with what he wanted to say. Everyone was silent, again, until Vanille turned toward Snow. Balthier looked toward them, only realized that the blond hadn't even said a thing since they'd escaped from the _Palamecia_.

"Mr. Hero! Cocoon calling Snow!" she said, waving a hand in front of his face. But, he didn't even look and her and simply stood there in silence.

Hope looked between them all, sighing. "It's almost like Dysley wants it to come true."

"Seems that way," Sazh agreed, "He sure didn't mind explaining it. 'Here's your Focus on a silver platter'."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Vanille stated, pouting and folding her arms across her chest. "I don't get it. Why would a Cocoon fal'Cie want to destroy Cocoon?"

Balthier tilted his head slightly, smirking weakly. "Maybe your gods are merely insane. They must have some grand design that we humes can't understand, or aren't allowed to know."

Fang shrugged her shoulders, and turned toward Snow. "Hey, Snow! Nothing from you?" she asked, but again, like Vanille, she didn't get a reply.

The group gave up on trying to figure out things for the time being, and started to head off down the long hall. Balthier walked in front of Snow, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. Their eyes met for a moment, but the blond shook his head and followed the others. Balthier sighed heavily, and reluctantly followed him to wherever the rest of the l'Cie were going.

_I was beginning to doubt my role in this little story. The leading man was meant to be the hero, not the villain. But if what they were saying was true, and if I really was naught but an Occurian puppet...Then I was no longer who I had thought I was._

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_Oh dear, what could be going on? A vision of destroying some world, everyone doubting Balthier's existance in Cocoon, and even _Snow_ refusing to look at him? That can't be good._


	14. Recalling Their Lost Deity

**Author's Note:** _This chapter is another one of my favorites. :3 I love Cid Raines. xD_

_You're the most amazing person in the world, __**Joshua Chung**__. Thank you! Sorry I'm a day late with this chapter!_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Fourteen

Recalling Their Lost Deity

The group walked through the piece of Pulse - an Ark, Fang and Vanille called it - for more than half a day. On their way there were many, armored knight-creatures appearing out of nowhere, but they proved to be nothing but nuisances to the group. Snow often remarked on how easy it seemed to be to take down any enemies now that everyone was back together, only to be told to be quiet by either Lightning or Balthier. The blond seemed to be more talkative once he'd had a short discussion with Lightning, most likely about the truth of Serah's Focus. But, he still wouldn't look Balthier in the eyes, for some reason.

What Dysley had said still rang in Balthier's mind, taking over almost all of his thoughts. Was he nothing but a puppet to Ivalice's gods? Was the only reason he was sent to Cocoon was to bring its destruction? And then, there was Ragnarok.

_I had asked Vanille about that monster, about what it was and if I really...was meant to become that creature and destroy all they knew. She didn't look me in the eyes when she told me that she didn't know._

Everyone else seemed considerably weary of him, too, and even Fang didn't want to look him in the eyes. None of them knew the reasons why he'd been sent to aid them in their journey, but they seemed to have an idea; the same idea he had.

Would he destroy Cocoon in order to help them complete their Focus? To make sure they didn't become Cie'th?

Would he go so far to even let _himself_ become a monster?

Balthier didn't have the chance to really think about it, because standing before them all in a large open chamber was none other than Cid Raines, the leader of the Calvary. Snow stepped forward, muttering the man's name. Both Sazh and Vanille tensed up behind him, but he turned toward them with a confident expression on his face.

"Easy, guys," he told them. "It's all right. Raines is a Sanctum officer. He's been helping us out-"

Fang held him back before he could walk any further. She glared at Raines as he approached them, and she asked in a cautious voice, "Why are you here?"

Raines kept walking toward them, not saying a single thing. Something wasn't right. Balthier slowly reached for Lightning's gunblade behind her back, keeping his eyes on the Sanctum general, and once he had his hand on the weapon he charged at the man. "Raines!" he snarled, "You traitor!" He clumsily swung at him with the gunblade, only to have Raines dodge each of his attacks with ease. The general grabbed Balthier by the arm, and then carelessly flung him off to the side with little or no effort, taking the gunblade in his own hands. The sky pirate winced when he hit the floor, but he got back to his feet instantly, glaring back at the taller man.

"I put you on the path," Raines said to them all, "That was my Focus."

Fang flinched. "You're a l'Cie?"

He nodded once. "Since long before we met. I did my best to assist you, as bid by the fal'Cie. Now do you understand?" Everyone remained silent, and he continued. "The fal'Cie have watched over you, guiding your every step. The luck that saved you time and again was a deliverate machination. Why, you may ask? The Primarch - or should I say, Barthandelus - is crafting you into the instruments of Cocoon's demise."

"And my world's demise," Balthier added in, scowling.

"We've been played for fools!" Fang murmured, clenching her fists when she looked downward.

Sazh asked, "A Cocoon fal'Cie? Why?"

"Why?" Raines kept his expressionless face as he spoke. "To restore the Maker. The entity responsible for creating both humans and fal'Cie. Long ago, the Maker departed this world, leaving the two behind. In a sense, humans and fal'Cie are brothers - orphaned by the same parent. As for the humans, they forgot the order imposed by the Maker. They began to war amongst themselves, for the first time in history." He frowned weakly, turning his head to the side. "The fal'Cie focused on recalling their lost deity and returning their world to its formal glory. This purpose lies at the heart of all their actions. Calling back the Maker requires a fitting sacrifice."

"Yeah," Lightning said, "we've heard. The destruction of Cocoon, and Balthier's world."

"The lives of each world's entire populace in bloody tribute." Raines tossed the gunblade back to its rightful owner, and Lightning caught it without even flinching.

"I don't get it," Hope stated, both confused and frustrated. "Why do they need us? Couldn't the fal'Cie just end the world with just a thought?"

The general shook his head. "Their existence is bound to the creation and maintenance of this floating shell. It is their very nature that holds them in check."

Balthier rubbed his sore arm, keeping his intense gaze upon the man. "And the Occuria?"

"Unlike the fal'Cie, your gods seek to simply control your world. I would expect you to remember, but...seeing as how your path has changed, you've forgotten the truth and your destiny."

The sky pirate cast his eyes downward, turning his head away from the others. He felt as if their eyes were on him, thinking that he wouldn't hesitate to kill them in an instant. They thought he was going to become a monster - he just knew it.

"If we can stop this by doing nothing," Vanille exclaimed, stepping forward beside Balthier. "We'll do nothing!"

Raines smirked. "Noble. I expected as much."

"You lied to us," Snow growled, gritting his teeth together and raising his voice. "What happened to your dream of rebuilding Cocoon for the people? Was it all a lie?"

"A shadow of a dream from when I was human," he answered, his smirk faltering. "It was change I craved, and once I'd built the influence to make things happen, there was change. I gained all the power I could hope for, but was a puppet with no will to wield it. It wasn't the fal'Cie who changed..." Raines' l'Cie brand on his hand began to glow a light-blue color. "...It was me."

Balthier's gaze softened for a moment. "You were made a l'Cie," he murmured, understanding. The desire to change things, to make things _right_...He knew that feeling all too well.

"Tied to an inescapable Focus - a slave of destiny. I lost hope. I'd all but given up my dreams of freedom." Raines sighed, then looked toward them all with an odd glint in his eyes. "I'm here of my own accord, not by fal'Cie order. Seeing you fight brought it all back. Brought back that future I once strove for. I, too, will challenge my fate." His brand's glow intensified, and when he raised his arm he summoned a magick barrier around the group. "If I can defeat you here, the fal'Cie plan will fail."

Fang stepped forward, and yelled out his name. "Raines!"

"I will use all my remaining power!" In a burst of light, he transformed into a half-human, half-Cie'th monster. His glowing eyes focused on Balthier as the party drew their weapons. "I will set you free, Ragnarok!"

That _name_. Balthier drew his swords in a fit of anger, running forward before any of the others could stop him. He raised both his swords and struck down the transformed Raines, knocking him down with an unseen force of magick energy. Something had awoken inside of him, _something_ was telling him to kill that man - no, that _monster_. Raines was no longer a man, no longer their ally...

He was their enemy.

Lightning ran past the sky pirate, blocking a forceful wave of magick that Raines sent toward them. However, the others weren't lucky enough to have the stamina to stay standing. Sazh and Hope fell first, succumbing to the sleep induced by the monster's magick. Next were Vanille and Snow, leaving only Balthier, Fang and Lightning standing against Raines.

"You all right, you two?" Fang asked the two of them after landing another attack against their enemy. She hunched over her lance, wincing from a slowly bleeding wound in her side.

"Never been better!" Lightning answered, firing multiple shots as they dodged another attack. Beside her, Balthier charged forward again and left them in the dust, going off on his own way to bring down Raines.

The black-haired woman sighed in frustration. "He's going to kill himself, isn't he?"

Lightning didn't answer, running after the sky pirate to make sure he hadn't gone mad with rage - or whatever it was that he was suffering from. His way of fighting had suddenly changed all of the sudden, no longer remaining as the sophisticated style he'd used when they'd first met. Something had changed him, and she knew that it had something to do with what both Dysley and Raines had said. His world was in danger, and he wasn't there to protect it.

Fang revived the others, and once they were all back on their feet they managed to defeat the transformed Raines. He fell to his knees, clutching the l'Cie brand on his hand, and Lightning stepped forward as she sheathed her gunblade. The others cautiously stood behind her, but Balthier was the one to walk forward at her side.

"Raines," she breathed, casting her eyes downward. Was she feeling...regret?

The man merely laughed weakly, shaking his head. "Ironic, isn't it?" he sighed, his voice weak. "The only thing I wanted was a moment of triumph...How it ends isn't important. Just do what you know is right."

"And if that path is one we can't turn from?" Balthier asked, frowning. "You had said-"

"Your path has been set, human. The only thing you can do now...is trust yourself." And with that, he began to fade away with a white light, dissolving into the air as if he was nothing but dust. Then, he was gone.

No one said a thing at first, and Balthier could feel Lightning's eyes on him when he turned away from them all. He couldn't face her, not after hearing more talk about so-called destiny and fate. Sazh was the one who broke the silence between them all.

"What? Did he complete his Focus?" he asked, looking at everyone.

"No," Snow replied, narrowing his eyes. "I don't think so. All Raines did was try to save Cocoon in his way - his _own_ way." He turned around and stormed off, and eventually everyone but Balthier and Lightning followed him. After a moment, she touched his hand and looked him in the eyes, but all he could do was turn away from her.

_Perhaps Raines was right. He wanted to understand what it meant to be human...What it meant to defy fate and its bonds. I could only hope to understand it the way he did._

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Not long after they had faced Raines, they were forced to do battle against Fang's Eidolon, Bahamut, when she attempted to turn against them, fearing for Vanille's life. Snow had been talking about going against their Focus to destroy Cocoon and do as Serah had said, but Fang didn't agree. They managed to convince her to stay with them, that they would do whatever it took to save themselves from turning into Cie'th. It was then that they discovered an abandoned air ship, _and_ what seemed to be a gate that would take them to Gran Pulse.

"I've gotta feeling this is our only way out," Sazh said, and the chocobo chick flew out of his hair and toward the ship. It chirped when Balthier stepped in the way, and it happily sat on his shoulder.

"Then I guess it's time to go home," Vanille replied with a smile. "To Gran Pulse!"

They all walked into the ship, and for once, Balthier didn't sit in the pilot's seat. He still wasn't feeling like his normal self, and he feared that if he tried to fly an air ship at that time, they'd end up crashing somewhere. And so, he allowed Sazh to take his place as captain, and stood in the far back with Vanille and Hope. They didn't seem to question his sudden silence; not like Snow, who kept giving him odd looks.

"Let's get this show on the road," Sazh murmured, turning on the engine of the ship. "Hold on to your heads!"

With a sudden jolt, they were in the air and flying right toward the gate. Vanille grabbed Balthier's hand and held it in her own, her eyes nervously looking around as they passed through the gate. He smiled weakly, messing up her hair with his free hand as if to tell her not to worry. She nodded, and huddled up closer to him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It wasn't that he was trying to make a move on her - he'd never think of doing something like that to her. The girl needed comforting, and it was his job to offer any help he could. That, and he needed some comforting of his own.

The trip through the gate was shorter than he expected. With another sudden jolt they were back in the sky, and Vanille snuck out from under his arms, leading him to the front of the ship where the others were.

"Well done, captain," Balthier said with a weak smirk when he stood behind Sazh. "Couldn't have done it better myself."

The older man grinned, giving him a thumbs up. "Yeah! Told you, didn't I?"

Outside their air ship, a long bodied dragon flew past and nearly hit them. Both Vanille and Hope ducked down in surprise. Fang, however, was more than amused.

"Playful little critter, isn't he?" she asked, smirking.

Lightning folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah, well play with someone else."

"He thinks we're lunch."

Sazh nearly laughed from the pilot's seat. "Like a l'Cie food buffet - with a pirate as a side dish."

"Cie food, cute," the pink-haired woman murmured, turning her head the other way.

As soon as she looked over, the dragon came back and attacked their ship, tearing off the side wall. Vanille was pulled out by the strong gust of wind, and out of old habit Balthier jumped out after her, grabbing her arm and holding onto the edge of the ship with his other hand. The ship began to turn and fall downward, and before anyone could reach for the two of them, Balthier and Vanille fell from the edge and plummeted toward the land.

"Fang!" Snow yelled out, leaning over the edge after he unsuccessfully tried to grab Balthier's hand. "Get 'em!"

The woman nodded. "I'm on it!" Both she and Lightning jumped off the ship, and in a matter of seconds she summoned her Eidolon Bahamut. She grabbed Lightning as she jumped onto the creature's back, and not too long later Snow, Sazh and Hope were on the dragon-summon, too. Balthier and Vanille, however, were still falling from the sky.

He wrapped his arms around her as soon as they were close together, despite knowing that they wouldn't survive the fall if the others didn't save them. She looked up at him and called out over the loud wind, "You okay?"

"Of _course_!" he yelled back, sarcastically. "Just ruddy perfect!"

Out of nowhere, Fang grabbed the back of his vest and pulled the two of them up onto Bahamut. Vanille repeatedly apologized for getting him in trouble, but Balthier simply shook his head and smiled.

"I told you, I'm a sky pirate! Flying is what I do!"

They flew down toward the land, and Fang turned around and faced them all from where she sat in the lead. "Home, sweet home," she greeted, "Welcome to Gran Pulse."

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_Gran Pulse reminded me of Dalmasca. Vibrant, and untamed. A world where all struggled to survive, captives under the never-ending control of the gods. There was no such thing as mercy...only a continuous string of trials that weeded out the weak and left only the strong. Raines knew the truth, the purpose lying at the heart of all the fal'Cie's actions. "Recalling their lost deity and returning the world to its formal glory". Where had I heard that before?_

_Humes were nothing but sacrifices, caught in the tempest of the l'Cie. And my coming here? T'was just a way to wake a sleeping god, no doubt. But would I have had the chance to help them, bring back the salvation they desired?_

_All that talk of a Maker, the fal'Cie, and l'Cie...It was all nonsense, now that I had looked back on it._

Balthier, Lightning, Sazh and Snow walked down a steep hill as they returned to their camp after a day of scouting around. Lightning kept her eyes forward as she walked on, but she nearly tripped over her own feet when she wasn't looking. Balthier caught her by her hand, but she walked past without even uttering a 'thank you'. Although, she did not move her hand from his right away. As she went on, he looked back at the other two, then toward her again.

"See?" he said, tilting his head to the side. "There was no need to search high and low. We're the only humes here."

She stopped walking, and scoffed. "_You're_ the only human," she muttered. "The rest of us are l'Cie."

The sky pirate laughed weakly, shaking his head. "Are you so sure? Perhaps the Sanctum is right - you may have infected me. I could be a l'Cie right now without even knowing it."

"It'll be your fault then." She touched a hand to her lightning-bolt necklace, then looked out toward the distance as he approached her. "You came with us on your own. And you could leave, if you wanted."

"Would you want me to leave, then?" When she said nothing, Balthier shrugged his shoulders. "No matter. I'm afraid you'll be stuck with me for a while longer. Once I confront the fal'Cie and demand that I be sent home, you'll be free of me."

Lightning glanced toward him, then turned her head away. "Balthier...You've been a great aid to us. Without you, we probably wouldn't have escaped the Sanctum in one piece, or found Vanille and Sazh." She turned her body completely toward him, looking him straight in the eyes. "T...thank you."

At first he was surprised by her words, but he smirked at her nonetheless. "You're more than welcome."

A few feet away from them stood Snow and Sazh, curiously watching what was going on between the two. Snow folded his arms across his chest and muttered quietly, "Wonder what they're talking about..."

"You know, I think Lightning's got a soft spot for him," Sazh stated, nodding his head. "You've seen how she acts 'round him?"

"...No?"

He shook his head. "Just look at her. I bet that's one of the few times she's smiled since losin' her sister." Snow scowled weakly, and Sazh only laughed. "Looks like you've got some competition, kid."

"Huh?" Snow exclaimed with wide, surprised eyes. "Competition? What d'you mean by that?"

The question was never answered, because Balthier and Lightning walked back over to them in silence. The blond stared blankly at Balthier, for some unknown reason, and did so the entire way back to camp. Lightning led the way there, and as soon as they saw Vanille and Fang sitting by a small fire the younger girl turned around and smiled.

"You're back!" she greeted, waving her hand at them when they walked closer.

Fang turned around, too, and grinned weakly. "Hey, any luck?"

"No sign of anyone else," Lightning answered, and the sky pirate smirked at her from behind. "But we did find plently of blood thirsty wildlife and crumbling ruins."

"We're run out of places to search around here," Snow continued, and with a pause he looked around the camp. "Where's Hope?"

"He's off with the chocobo getting supplies," Fang replied, and just as she spoke the chocobo chick flew past her and landed on top of Balthier's head.

The sky pirate begrudgingly picked up the chocobo and held it in his hands. "All by yourself?" he asked, and then listened to its some-what quick chirping. "What do you mean by 'his brand'?"

The others went tense, and Snow was the first one to take off running in the direction Hope had gone. Lightning was close behind him, as were Vanille and Sazh. Fang was the only one who stayed behind with Balthier and the chocobo chick, muttering something under her breath. Obviously something happening to Hope because of his brand was not a good thing.

When they returned, Snow was carrying an unconscious Hope in his arms. Vanille tended to him and watched over him while the others sat around the fire, the sky around them turning dark as night arrived. Balthier looked toward the girl and Hope, casting his eyes downward as he wondered if dying was the only fate left for them. Die, or destroy the world. It seemed those were their only choices. He turned back toward the others, watching as Snow stood up in frustration.

"So this is how it ends?" he yelled, looking at them all.

"Just wait," Sazh snapped, staring at the ground. "How long has it been since we left Cocoon, hm? Not a single soul for miles around, not a damn clue about this l'Cie mess."

When the blond took a step forward, Balthier looked up. "We did well for getting this far," he stated, and Snow stared in shock at him as he stood up. "Raines was right. I should have never gotten myself in between you lot and the fal'Cie. I was better off on my own."

Vanille stood up, hurriedly walking toward the group. "Balthier..." she whimpered, reaching out for him.

But he turned away from her and began to walk off, only stopping when he stood in front of Lightning. He looked at her longingly, as if he hoped she would say something. Yet all she did was keep her eyes glued to the ground at their feet. "Go on," she murmured, quietly.

Balthier looked at her face one more time before walking away again, only to be stopped when Snow ran over and grabbed his arm, forcing him back. "We need you," he said in a desperate tone of voice, tightening his grip on Balthier's arm.

"Are you sure you're talking about everyone, or just yourself, _Snow_?" The sky pirate pulled away from him and walked away, leaving them all behind in silence.

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_Why did I even try to run away, yet again? I was a coward. Snow was right - they needed me. And what did I do? I ran._

Balthier has lost track of what direction he'd gone in by the end of the second hour. He seemed to just be mindlessly wandering without a clue as to where he was going. This wasn't his world, he understood that, but he just kept walking. He'd given up. Given up on his so-called task to save Cocoon, his trust in others, and whatever he seemed to feel for his comrades back in Ivalice - that is, _if_ he remembered them.

And that whole deal with the creature called Ragnarok? He wanted to just end it all and do as Dysley had said: destroy Cocoon. It wasn't his world, and he didn't care if it was destroyed. As long as he could keep Ivalice alive and well, that was all that mattered. If that was even considered as his home, seeing as how he'd forgotten his journey with Fran and the others. It didn't...make sense.

"I'm through," he hissed, pushing past all the foliage in the woods. "Snow can take the title of hero for all I care. This leading man is _done_."

When he took another step forward, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He pressed a hand to it, wincing when something warm seeped through his blouse and vest. Looking down at his hand, Balthier nearly yelled out when he saw _blood_. Red, crimson blood. The wound continued to bleed, and he fell to his knees in the dirt as he blankly stared at a white figure standing before him. It held out its hand, but he didn't have the strength to reach forward in return.

"_Ffamran mied Bunansa, your time has come."_

As everything faded to black around him, Balthier fell forward and laid there in the dirt; his breath being stolen away in the darkness.

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_Dun dun dunnn..._


	15. Deliver The Divine, Ragnarok

**Author's Note:** _Okay, THIS is my favorite chapter so far, hands down.  
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_You still make me a happy writer, __**Joshua Chung**__. Thank you for leaving your always charismatic reviews when no one else will. :3_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Fifteen

Deliver the Divine, Ragnarok

After the sky pirate had left them, Hope had awoken and summoned his Eidolon, Alexander. The group sat around the fire once things had calmed down, but no one said a word. They all were troubled by Balthier's departure, but it seemed that Snow was the one who took it the worst. Vanille looked toward him, worried, and then cast her eyes downward to the fire.

"What do we do now?" she asked, "It doesn't feel right to leave Balthier out there on his own..."

"He's a tough one," Fang reassured her, placing a tender hand upon her shoulder. "He can handle things for himself. If he wants to come back, he'll come back."

"But..." The girl's voice trailed off, and she hugged her legs closer to her chest when her eyes darted toward Snow's silent form again.

Lightning, who stood leaning against the shelter they'd set up, turned her head to look in the direction Balthier had walked off, a look of longing on her face. Sighing heavily and standing up straight, she looked toward the others and stated, "Then let's go find him." When no one answered her, she stormed over to Snow and glared down at him. "Haven't you thought about how he must feel about being here, Snow?"

The blond didn't look up at her, continuing to stare into the fire.

"Have you even considered what he's been through?" she yelled, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him to his feet. "This isn't his world, or his home! But he still _helped_ us! So get it together and bring him back!"

Fang tilted her head as soon as Lightning calmed down, letting go of Snow's shirt. Standing straight up, Vanille put her hands on her hips. "We're a family," she stated, "All of us. It's not every day a hero must save another!"

Nodding his head, the tall blond looked between them all. "All right. Then let's go."

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Although Lightning led the group through Gran Pulse, Snow was the one who was their driving force. Constantly he'd remind them as they traveled through fields, underground tunnels, and ice-covered lands that finding Balthier was their main goal, even before finding more clues to their Focus. Fang would then remark on how he was completely different from how he was before, and that obviously there was something he wasn't telling them.

"Look, we need to find Balthier," Snow told her as they walked behind Lightning and Hope. "After that, we'll go to your home - Oerba Village, or whatever it was called..."

"Who knows, maybe Balthier's already there!" Vanille cheerfully interrupted, skipping between them. "We're almost to the village, anyway!"

Fang rolled her eyes. "You've said that about every time we go to a new place, Vanille," she murmured, shaking her head. "And still no sign of that pirate. For all we know, he could have found a way back to his world. Or, he became Ragnarok and has already destroyed Cocoon."

"Fang, don't say that! Maybe Balthier _isn't_ Ragnarok! Dysley mentioned that only _l'Cie_ can become that monster...And Balthier's not like the rest of us."

"Yeah, well, he sure isn't trying to get on our good sides," Sazh added in, falling in step with the other three. "He'd been in a bad mood since we met with Dysley."

The redheaded girl pursed her lips as Lightning and Hope stopped walking, which probably meant it was time for a break. They'd been walking around all day, and no doubt everyone was getting tired. But, it seemed that neither Snow or Lightning would stop until they found the sky pirate. And who knew how long that would take...

Not long after they'd stopped for a rest, Snow and Vanille led the group through the frosty lands, knowing that soon they'd reach their next destination: Oerba Village, Fang and Vanille's home. They were surrounded by cliffs and endless ice, but even though it was fairly cold out they still continued on as if nothing was wrong. Fang had mentioned that everyone needed to be careful around those parts, especially with the untamed wildlife around. However, Vanille ignored her as soon as she spotted something on the ground up ahead.

She smiled widely, running forward. "Hey!" she squealed, "It's him! Balthier!" She kept running, the others close behind, but she stopped all of the sudden and cried out, and Fang pulled her close when she covered the girl's eyes. Snow felt his heart stop when he saw why she'd screamed.

Lying in the middle of the path was Balthier, like Vanille had seen, only he was covered in his own dried blood. There was a thin, but long gash on his chest, and his open eyes were glazed and unseeing. "No," Snow breathed, rushing forward and kneeling beside the sky pirate's body. Lightning slowly followed him, her aqua eyes widening as soon as she saw what was wrong.

Vanille was crying into Fang's neck while the woman held her close, and Sazh placed a hand on Hope's shoulder while the boy looked down toward the ground. Even the chocobo chick chirped quietly, fluttering by Sazh's shoulder.

"He's...He's not...Balthier!" Snow yelled, shaking the man by the shoulder, as if he was trying to wake him up. "Balthier! Dammit, you can't be...!"

"Not even the strongest soldier can survive a wound like that," Sazh stated, sadly shaking his head. "Look there. See that? Stabbed. Right in the heart."

Snow held one of Balthier's cold hands in his own, pressing it against his forehead as he hung his head low. Lightning stood back, staring at him as she didn't believe that Balthier was no longer among them.

"A Cie'th...couldn't have done this...Right?" Hope asked, holding back his tears. He looked at everyone, but no one answered.

Lightning touched a hand to her lightning-bolt necklace, turning away from Snow and Balthier's unmoving form. Then, without a word, she began to walk away.

"Hey!" Sazh called out, stepping away from Hope as everyone looked toward the female soldier. "Where're you going?"

Fang narrowed her eyes, letting go of Vanille and walking forward as well. "What about him?" she asked, clenching her fists in frustration. "You're just gonna pretend nothing happened to him?"

Snow finally looked up, gently setting Balthier's hand down and standing upright. He glared at Lightning, saying her name. "Light." She didn't turn around, and so he stormed right up to her and grabbed a hold of her arm, turning her around. She glared at him, but unlike before, everyone could see the sadness and regret in her eyes. "So that's it, huh?" Snow yelled, "You're just going to give up on him? Just like you did before, with Serah?"

"Serah isn't dead!" Lightning yelled as she pulled away from the tall man, her voice shaking from anger. "Balthier _is_!" She stormed off, leaving Snow standing there in silence. Vanille wiped her eyes as she followed the woman, not looking back at the others, or Balthier's body.

Fang touched the blond's arm, regretfully looking down at the sky pirate's form. "We can give him a proper burial at the village," she told him, shaking her head as she walked away. "He deserves it."

While the other walked after Lightning, Snow stayed back and went over to Balthier's body. Gently, he lifted him up into his arms, staring down at the pale face. He hung his head low, closing his eyes. "...I'm sorry."

**

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**

When they reached the village, Fang pushed open to large stone doors of some sort of ruined tomb, leading the party inside. She turned around and faced them all, sighing deeply. "This is where we put our dead to rest back then," she told them, "Hasn't been used in years, but...It's better than leaving him out there."

Snow walked forward, still carrying Balthier's still form in his arms, and set him down on one of the white stone tables. He reached down and touched the sky's pirate cold face for a moment, then got down on his knees and held his hand again. Vanille walked up beside him, still sniffling from crying all the way there, and held her hands together in some sort of praying motion.

"Miss you already..." she whispered, and then she stepped back to Fang's open arms. She allowed the woman to hold her close again, and began to let the tears fall again from her cheeks.

"He was a good man," Sazh murmured, "An idiot, but a damn good man."

Hope added in quietly, closing his eyes, "Never met anyone like him."

Fang only nodded, sighing heavily as she couldn't find the right words to say. Lightning stood in the back, staring down at the stone floor and remaining silent. Snow, on the other hand, took a deep breath.

"I'm going to save Cocoon," he said, his voice cracking weakly, "And your home. I'm going to keep my promise, Balthier. You can count on that."

Everyone was silent as he stood up, walking back toward the others after letting go of the sky pirate's hand. At that point, Lightning slowly walked forward in silence, ignoring their gaze upon her. As soon as she stood above Balthier's body, she stared down at him in both regret and sadness. "You told me that the leading man never dies," she quietly said, "And you were right..." She pulled off her lightning-bolt necklace and enclosed it in one of his hands, closing her eyes. "You were right."

And then, after slowly moving her hand away, she turned around and walked out of the tomb. Eventually everyone else followed her, apart from Snow, who stood there with his eyes blankly staring at Balthier's body. Like Lightning, he turned around left with a heart-felt sigh.

They spent the night in the house that had belonged to Fang and Vanille, and they ate their dinner in absolute silence. Not even Sazh could say something to cheer them up, and Vanille, for once, wasn't giving everyone one of her bright and cheery smile. After dinner, they all parted ways and went to bed in separate rooms. Lightning sat in the window of the room she and Snow were sharing, staring up the stars in the sky with a content, but sad look in her eyes. Snow was sitting at the edge of one of the beds, looking down at his hands.

"Did you really mean it?" she asked, breaking their long lasting silence, and he looked at her as soon as she spoke. "What you said back there, about...about keeping your promise. To save Cocoon, and the other world."

He looked back down at his hands. "I made a promise to both of them - Serah and Balthier," he answered, "And I don't plan on breaking another promise. I _will_ save Cocoon and Ivalice, even if I die trying."

"I wish I could keep promises like that. I'd tried, but..." She leaned her head against the windowpane, sighing. "It got me nowhere, in the end."

"Sis..."

Lightning laughed weakly, shaking her head. "I'm not your sister. At least, not yet. How many times do I have to remind you?"

He tried to smile, but he didn't find the will to do so. "Light, I think we - _I _was wrong. About Balthier." He could feel her questioning gaze on him, and so he continued, "I had thought he was the one to become Ragnarok, after hearing what Dysley had said about him being nothing but a puppet of his own gods. But, after seeing...what happened to him, I know he wasn't really that monster. I just...wanted an excuse to believe that we weren't meant to end everything. I blamed him, and..." Snow sighed, "Now he's gone. I never got the chance to say sorry to him."

"Serah believed in him," she stated, sitting up and turning her gaze back toward the stars. "That's all the proof we needed. Balthier was as he always told us: a hero."

"Then, let's not let him down. The rest of us heroes...still have a job to do."

**

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**

When morning came, they left as soon as everyone was ready to go. They managed to reach the ruins of an old high-way, despite having to deal with a battle against Vanille's summon, Hectoncheir, after Fang revealed that she remembered her old Focus - that she had been the one to become Ragnarok in the War of Transgression. Vanille unwillingly summoning her Eidolon proved that to be true, despite what she tried to deny. Lightning and Snow looked toward each other at hearing this, any doubts they had before being willed away.

Their spirits slightly higher than the day before, the group walked along the high-way's path with their eyes only looking forward to their future, whatever that would be. As they walked, however, they heard a familiar suave, yet haunting voice around them.

_"Ragnarok. Come Day of Wrath, O Pulse l'Cie..."_

Lightning's breath caught in her chest, and her eyes widened.

_"Embrace thy fate, thine home to burn...That fallen souls might bear our plea...To hasten the Divine's return..."_

They all looked toward each other, and thinking the same thing.

_"O Piteous Wanderer, Ragnarok...Make of this day a brave epoch..."_

When they stopped walking, Balthier walked toward them as he appeared from a burst of light. He looked some-what different from when they had last seen him, wearing what he had once described as his 'clothes from Ivalice'. Lightning could only stare as he approached them.

"Deliver the Divine," he recited, "Ragnarok."

They all stared at him in shock, words seemingly leaving them. Snow was the one to step forward, watching as Balthier smiled at them. "Balthier!" the blond exclaimed, "How did you...?"

"I've been waiting," the sky pirate answered, "For you to open your eyes and see the truth." The other man took another step closer to him. "The entire time I was gone, I could see what was happening. So I've been trying to think up a way to save Cocoon...Together."

"Balthier?" Snow reached out and touched his shoulder, only to push the man away when he saw the color of his eyes. They weren't his warm, dark brown eyes, like before - they were dark blue. Empty and cold.

Balthier stood up straight, smiling darkly as Snow's eyes widened in fear. "You understand now," he cruelly stated, and he walked past all of them, looking up toward the sky as an owl flew overhead. "There are no gods with miracles to save us, no matter where you think to look. That is why we must call one." His smiled widened, and he looked at them directly. "Destroy Orphan, and we'll save both our worlds!"

Lightning reached for her gunblade when Balthier stood in front of her. "Stop it!" she yelled, narrowing her eyes.

"I know that you wouldn't lay a hand on me," he said to her, resting his hands at his sides. "You _love_ me. Isn't that right..._Claire_?"

She flinched at the sound of her old name, only to remember that she had never told the real Balthier what she had been called in the past. Snow stepped between them, glaring at the sky pirate.

"Enough already," he hissed through gritted teeth. "Listen up. We are all shooting for the same goal here."

Suddenly, a dark-light enveloped Balthier's form, and once the light faded away Dysley stood in his place. "And the result of that," the old man said with a dark smile, holding out his arms, "is _this_."

"You son of a...!" Snow ran forward and tried to punch the man, but was sent back by an invisible force. He tried again, his anger getting the best of him and claiming his emotions, but was sent back to the stone-flooring almost instantly.

"You betray your fal'Cie to chase after dreams and shadows," Dysley continued, "The world you claim to protect now faces the end of days with no hope of salvation."

Lightning scowled. "I didn't think the fal'Cie had the means."

"Oh, it won't be fal'Cie who destroy her. For centuries now, Cocoon has provided generously for its human inhabitants' every want and need. Coddled them, one might even say. The result being their deep-seated hatred of change and all things alien." He smirked, "Fed, nurtured, and ready to detonate at the slightest spark. The seeds of destruction take root, even now. One not of Cocoon will be the one to destroy her."

She pulled out her gunblade and held it toward him. "Where's Balthier?" she demanded, and everyone stared at her.

"It's not I who took him," Dysley answered with a turn of his head, "You will find him soon enough, waiting for you like a good tool does."

Snow stepped forward. "Balthier?" he asked, some-what relieved. "He's alive?"

"The puppet is restrung to fit _my_ needs, yes. His eyes had long since turned to glass. Of course, the people's eyes will see our friend as nothing more than a threat to society - an outsider. They'll say the fal'Cie got to him, too, or some such drivel. And imagine," his smirk widened in humor, "when I spread that it's Orphan tugging at his strings, what happens next."

"You'll be sending Balthier to his death!" Sazh exclaimed, reaching for his guns.

Dysley nodded. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I'll feign the howling of Pulsian wolves and let the fear-addled sheep slaughter themselves first. Either way, the end is at hand!" He laughed darkly, turning his head toward the sky. "But what of yourselves? Will you enjoy the festivities beside me? Or perhaps..." Right before their eyes, he transformed into the fal'Cie Barthandelus, watching them menacingly. "Greet the end here, in the place it all began?"

Snow was the first to charge at the fal'Cie, not caring if he injured himself in the process. What drove him to fight was only one thought: Balthier was still _alive_. He still needed them, and once they dealt with Barthandelus they would save him, and then save both of their worlds. Just like he had promised.

He summoned the Shiva Sisters to assist him in battle, and as he felt the cold wind upon him when they arrived at his side, his determination only increased. The others summoned their Eidolons as well, and together they stood against Barthandelus, ready to stop his madness. With less of the a struggle than the first time they had faced them, the l'Cie managed to defeat the monster with their summons' help.

Dysley stood before them, and like the first time he appeared to be unharmed. "The time has come," he told them, laughing. "Allow me to extend my invitation. To save people beyond salvation, there is only Ragnarok." Behind him, the owl-familiar became the same air ship as it had before. "Cocoon will suffer by tomorrow's end. Release her from the pain."

And he disappeared in a flash of light, and the group could only stare as they faced a fork in their path: leave and save Cocoon, or find the one they had believed to be dead.

**

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_I, like, completely re-wrote the original storyline for this part. xD Having Balthier appear before the party instead of Serah seemed a lot more...effective and creepy to me._

_And, as you can tell, I hate writing battle scenes. ;D I apologize._


	16. The Undying

**Author's Note:** _So, after sitting in my room and making my Snow action figure do silly poses...I realized something: I need Balthier and Lightning action figures. Then my dream team will be complete! :D ...Darn you, over-priced action figures!_

_I thank you for giving me the most amazing idea ever, __**Joshua Chung**__! I'm sure you'll be happy, too. :)_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Sixteen

The Undying

"So, what d'we do now?" Sazh asked them all, breaking the silence that had claimed the group after Dysley disappeared. Lightning sheathed her gunblade and began to walk toward the air ship, her own way of telling him that they were going back to Cocoon. Snow, however, had a different plan.

He walked in the opposite direction of the female soldier, turning around once everyone else looked toward him. "I'm going to get Balthier," he informed them. "You heard what Dysley said, didn't you? Balthier's waiting for us. And I'm not going back to Cocoon until I know he's all right."

Lightning turned around at hearing the sky pirate's name, but she kept her gaze turned toward the ground.

"C'mon, Light," Snow urged her, walking toward her. "You want to go as much as I do. Right? So let's go save the leading man. This story is nothing without him." Both Fang and Vanille nodded in agreement, as did Sazh and Hope, but Lightning still remained where she stood.

"And remember the large hole in his chest?" Fang asked, stepping toward the other woman. "The blood was _dry_. He was only gone for a short time, so there is no way in hell that was the cause of his death. That wound wasn't recent."

"He's still alive, I just know it." The blond turned away from them all, walking back the way they came. "I'm going to get him back, even if I have to leave you behind. I'm _not_ going to break my promise."

The others began to follow him as well, and Lightning turned her eyes toward the air ship. None of them knew for sure if Balthier was still alive, knowing that Dysley seemed to have lied about Serah's Focus before. He could have been lying to them about Balthier, just to force them against their will to destroy Cocoon. But, then again, if Snow seemed to believe that their friend was alive...Then there was no doubt that he was right.

Snow later mentioned that the first place they were going to look was back at the Oerba Village, where they'd left Balthier in the tomb. Dysley had said that the sky pirate was waiting for them, so that had to have been the only place he was. If not, they'd keep looking until they found him. Snow wasn't going to give up, and neither were the others.

"Do you think he'll want to be with us again?" Hope asked Vanille as they walked side by side. "I mean, he _did_ storm off and leave us..."

"He'll help us, I'm sure!" she gladly answered, smiling brightly. "We don't need to worry. He's a part of our family now!"

Despite any doubt they may have had, they reached the village in a short amount of time. Snow quickened his pace when he caught sight of the stone tomb ahead of them, eagerly running toward the large doors. Fang was right behind him, and then she blocked him from opening the doors. He tried to get past her, but she shook her head at him. "We don't know if it's a trap," she said, "So be careful. Don't be disappointed if it turns out the old man was lying to us." She then turned toward Lightning, half smirking. "And don't let your feelings get in the way, pinky."

Lightning narrowed her eyes, walking past her as Snow pushed open the doors. As soon as they stepped inside they were whisked away to some unknown land.

**

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**

They walked into what seemed like an empty room, but as soon as their eyes adjusted to the light they found themselves on a floating platform in the middle of an endless sky. There were many odd statues around them, and Lightning almost believed that they were of the fal'Cie. But when she looked closer, she changed her mind. They kept walking forward toward the circular platform, and stopped as soon as they saw someone lying in the center.

"Balthier!" Snow exclaimed, rushing forward with Lightning right behind him. The sky pirate seemed to just be sleeping, and there wasn't a blood covered gash on his chest anymore. His skin was pale, and his lips were parted ever so slightly. Snow shook Balthier by the shoulder, only to pull away when he felt his deathly cold skin. He turned toward the others, panicking. "Something's wrong! He's not-"

Lightning looked up instantly, staring at something overhead. "Snow!" she yelled, just as ghostly figures appeared all around them, floating in front of the statues. One of the creatures floated right in front of Snow and Balthier, seemingly staring down upon them, and the blond protectively covered Balthier's unconscious form with an arm.

"Well, this is something you don't see everyday," Fang murmured, pulling out her lance. "C'mon, give us your best shot, you beasts!"

"_Foolish l'Cie. We cannot be killed_," said the creature in the front.

Lightning stepped forward, standing close behind Snow. "What are you?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. The creatures were the gods of Balthier's world, Ivalice. The Occuria, as Dysley had called them.

"_We are the Undying, wrought upon this world to end the everlasting control of the fal'Cie. This hume was our messenger - brought to your world to end all the forces of naught._"

Snow looked down at Balthier, who still laid there unmoving. "What have you done to him?" Lightning questioned, weakly clenching her fists.

The Occurian god remained still. "_He chose to stray from his destined path. And now, a new messenger must be chosen to become the Divine. Ragnarok._"

"He can't be dead!" Vanille exclaimed, rushing forward toward the god. "If he's so important-"

It pushed her back with a gust of invisible magick, and Fang caught the girl before she could fall to the tranlucent floor. "_L'Cie, know you not the truth? He is no longer among those who live, in his world. See._"

And then, in their dazed mind-sight, they saw Balthier standing with his comrades from Ivalice against a monstrous man surrounded by floating swords made of magick. The sky pirate turned his head toward a blonde woman, hearing her call out for him. But as he turned around one of the swords pierced into his chest, forcing him to his knees. Balthier looked toward his comrades, but before he could say a single word he fell to the floor. Dead.

Lightning ran forward as soon as their vision was returned to them, raising her gunblade and crying out as she stabbed the Occurian god. Her gunblade went right through it, and sent her flying back toward the others not a second later. She landed on her feet, almost running back toward it until Sazh grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Why?" she yelled, her voice shaking from anger. "Why did you have to choose Balthier?"

"_He was a heretic. Against all we strove for, all we longed to control_," it told them all. "_A second time to live we gave him, yet he strayed from our calls. Now, he rests. Eternal, yet frozen. Ragnarok must be summoned, l'Cie. Know this. Do you?_"

"He's not gonna be Ragnarok," Fang said with a scowl. "Why would you want to destroy your own world? You're the gods of Ivalice, aren't you?"

"_Our chosen one betrayed her vows. The Dynast-King's last descendant chose a new path, cutting our control. This hume was her follower, sworn by his oaths to end the Undying. Yet in him we saw truth. He was to become the Divine, the one to destroy the fal'Cie Orphan. Not your world, nor ours._"

Vanille bit her lower lip. "Then, Dysley _was_ lying..."

_"Barthandelus spoke the truth. L'Cie, you have the destiny. The destiny to end your gods' reign, and begin anew._"

"We won't do a damn thing unless Balthier comes back with us," Snow sternly told it, lifting up Balthier's limp form into his arms. Balthier unconsciously laid his head on the blond's shoulder. "So either he comes with us, or your world goes down with Cocoon."

The god was silent for a moment, floating before them in silence. Lightning raised her gunblade again, stepping forward so that she stood beside Snow. At last, it spoke to them. "_The end is at hand. His sins will be absolved, yet once Orphan is naught...This hume will be naught._"

And with those final words, they found themselves consumed by a bright light, returning to the realm of the living.

**

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**

"I think he's waking up! Guys, Balthier's back!"

Balthier heard Vanille's eager voice calling out for the others as soon as he began to open his eyes. She smiled at him, tears leaking out from the corner of her eyes. He wanted to ask her why she was crying, but he couldn't seem to find his voice. After she gently helped him sit up from laying in her lap, his vision began to clear up and he looked at the others' faces when they stood around him.

"Balthier, I..." Snow uneasily murmured, looking down at his feet. "I'm sorry for the things I said to you, before. I didn't mean...I mean, I really just-"

The sky pirate smiled weakly. "Snow," he said, his voice hoarse from being silent for so long.

The blond met his gaze, then cast his eyes downward. "I don't want you to leave us," he finally said, "We're...we're family now."

"I believe Vanille's cheery-ness is rubbing off on you, Ice," Balthier stated with a weak laugh, watching Snow get embarrassed at the sound of the nickname. He looked toward the others, mainly Vanille, and asked, "Tell me, what did I miss while I was gone?"

Hope stared blankly at him. "You...don't remember?"

"Got a case of amnesia, eh?" Fang laughed, folding her arms across her chest. "You ran off, we met Dysley again, and then followed you to the Occuria."

He flinched, narrowing his eyes as he tried to think of where he'd heard that name before. "...Occuria?"

"Yeah," Sazh answered, "The gods controlling your worlds. Dysley kept talking about them when we confronted him the first time. You were there, remember?"

"I don't...seem to remember it," Balthier muttered, rubbing his forehead as he stood up. "Occuria?"

Vanille nodded, her hand still on his arm. "They said you're their messenger, to rid Cocoon of the fal'Cie. Just like Dysley said."

Balthier looked toward them all again, stopping when he laid eyes on Lightning, who stood behind them all with her head turned away. Why wouldn't she look at him? He frowned, blinking slowly. "They told you something terrible, did they not?" he asked, mainly toward the woman who didn't seem to be listening to him.

Fang sighed loudly. "Light, tell him," she said to the other woman, who had turned toward them at this point. "Tell him what the Occuria told us - what they _showed_ us."

"No," Lightning answered, glaring at the them. "They were lying. Just more fal'Cie smoke and mirrors. There's no such thing as the Occuria, and there's no way Balthier is going to..." She clenched her fists, unable to even finish her sentence. Balthier walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders as he faced her. She, however, continued to refuse to look at him.

"Light," he breathed. When he said her name, she slowly looked up at him. He was taken aback when he saw the furious tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Lightning?"

"I won't let you leave," she said, her voice shaking. "You're one of us now. I won't...I won't let you die. Not _now_."

He removed one of his hands from her shoulders, leaving one resting on her arm, as he turned around and looked to the others for understanding.

Vanille was the only one to say anything. "The Occuria showed us what happened to you before you came to Cocoon," she whispered, closing her eyes. She looked as if she was about to cry again. "You died, Balthier. That's...that's why you're forgetting everything, and that was why you...you were gone since yesterday. Your life in Ivalice is over."

Looking down at his hands, Balthier remembered. The figure holding out their hand to him, the _blood_ on his hands, hearing Snow promising something to him from a distance...and Lightning. Lightning holding his hand for what seemed like an eternity, and then disappearing in the darkness. He _was_ dead, but...

Snow placed a hand on the sky pirate's shoulder, worriedly watching him. "Balthier..."

"So I've been wrong all this time," Balthier murmured, stepping away from them all. "The leading man..._does_ die."

Suddenly, a bright gold light erupted from the ground at Balthier's feet and an strong force pushed the others away from him. He backed away from the summoning circle forming before him, clutching his wrist when something burned a marking onto it. Balthier could only stare as the esper Ultima appeared in the gold light, smiling beautifully at the one who summoned her. She extended her hand toward him, beckoning him to her. He also reached for it, but Snow and Lightning ran forward, distracting him.

"An Eidolon?" Snow asked, bracing himself for battle. "But, you're not a l'Cie!"

"No," Lightning answered, pulling out her gunblade. The tears were gone from her eyes, and the normal Lightning was back. "It's one of your espers from Ivalice, right, Balthier? The ones you told me about?"

The sky pirate only nodded, his eyes turning back toward the goddess of espers herself. He slowly pulled out his two swords out from his scarf, and Ultima let out an ear-shattering scream at the sight of his apparent betrayal toward her.

"Focus on the battle, Balthier!" Snow yelled out to him, almost grinning. "It doesn't matter if you're alive or dead! You're here now, and that's all that matters!"

When both of them ran forward toward the esper, Balthier felt his strength slowly leaving him when Ultima raised an arm in his direction. She had cast Doom on him, something that the Eidolons of Cocoon usually did to their summoners to test their strength and their will to live. Sighing deeply, he rushed after the other two toward the esper. Lightning's eyes met his as she turned around, and he nodded in her direction; assuring her that he was all right.

With that, the two of them went after Ultima with magick charged sword attacks, while Snow focused on using physical strength to confuse the esper. From time to time she would target only Balthier, but after seeing how he and Lightning worked together so much, she changed her main target to the female soldier.

Lightning gracefully dodged what ever magick attacks were sent her way, and it was even hard for Balthier to keep track of where she was going. Both Snow and Balthier would often look to each other, just to make sure that they were both okay. Snow would grin widely, giving him a thumbs up, while Balthier would simply smirk in his direction.

At last, the esper Ultima was defeated, and she lovingly took Balthier's hand in her own as she faded from sight.

_"I am Ultima, the High Seraph. I am in your debt, hume."_

Balthier watched as she faded away, then turned his eyes toward the burned esper brand on the inside of his wrist on his right arm. Both Snow and Lightning walked up to him, and the others stood up from where they had fallen around the camp.

"You all right?" Snow asked, frowning slightly.

"I've...fought that esper before," the sky pirate answered, weakly narrowing his eyes. "With the others, before...before I left them behind."

The blond looked hopeful. "Are you starting to remember things, then?"

"No, it's a feeling. A hunch, as you would say." He turned toward the female soldier standing at his other side, then said to her, "Lightning, if I truly am as the Occuria say, then once this is over-"

"I won't let you die," she interrupted, casting her eyes downward.

Balthier smiled weakly, and then lightly hit her chin with his fist. She looked up at him, at their eyes met. "Thank you," he said with a weak laugh. Surprisingly, she returned his smile with her own, and Balthier swore that seeing Lightning smile was one of the most beau-

Snow stepped in between them, lightly pushing the sky pirate's shoulder. "Hey, no love for the hero?" he asked, grinning widely.

"Not if he continues to interrupt my thoughts," Balthier murmured, rolling his eyes. The others walked over to them, and Vanille immediately tackled him, nearly knocking him to the ground. Neither of them couldn't help but start laughing, and the others joined in eventually.

_Even though I knew that there was still a chance that we wouldn't survive this journey...I knew that this story would have its happy ending. All that remained was where the heroes would make their final stand._

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_Epic chapters are epic. And two chapters in one day? Yaaay. :3  
_


	17. Show Must Go On

**Author's Note:** _Eek! This story is almost done! BUT, there will be a sequel. I won't say what the plot will be, but...It's going to take place in __**Ivalice**__. ;) I'm excited to write it!_

_I love you, __**Joshua Chung**__. :3 *hug!*_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Seventeen

Show Must Go On

_They say that the people who you travel with become almost like your family. I, for once, agreed with that statement. Though I had forgotten my comrades back in Ivalice, save for Fran, my new comrades in Cocoon..._They _were my family._

From what Snow had told him, they had one day to spend on Gran Pulse before they were to head back to Cocoon to stop the fal'Cie Barthandelus. But whether they were going to destroy Orphan, or if Balthier was going to do as the Occuria had bid of him...That was still up in the air.

Vanille had run off with Hope and Fang, and Snow and Sazh were sitting out by the fire pit talking with each other about the next day's plans. Lightning was off staring at the sky, for some odd reason, and Balthier had gone off on his own to explore Oerba Village. The others knew that he wouldn't leave them again, as he had the day before, but they still wanted to know where he was - just in case he collapsed again.

He ended up standing on the dock of the village's harbor watching the sun set, thinking about all that had happened to him in such a short time. Even though he couldn't remember much about his time in Ivalice with his old comrades, it was still some-what comforting to think about them.

He could hear footsteps coming up from behind, and then Lightning's quiet voice asked, "Are you all right?"

"For the most part," Balthier answered, stretching out his arms and yawning weakly. "I'm awfully tired, however."

She walked up beside him, resting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow. "After all that happened...All you can say is that 'you're tired'? You're handling things well."

"Are you so sure that I am? I'm no l'Cie, but I was still able to summon a creature like the rest of you. Tell me: why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Balthier. The fal'Cie must have something planned for you, or maybe it's all because of your Occurian-gods." She sighed, letting her arms fall to her sides as she looked down toward the water below them. "I don't know what to believe anymore. Dysley said that you're...nothing but his puppet, while the Occuria told us that you were the one to turn into Ragnarok and destroy Orphan. They're essentially the same thing - in the end." She sighed again, folding her arms across her chest. "And what about what happened to you, back in your world? If you were to return there...What would happen to you? You'll be dead."

Balthier got down on his knees, running a hand through the cold water under the dock. Lightning watched him carefully.

"Do you even...want to go back there, Balthier?" she asked.

"It's my home, is it not? I would rather die there than die somewhere I don't belong," he said, laughing weakly. "Though, I suppose that's already happened to me once. I have always believed that Ivalice was the only world in existence. To think I've been wrong this whole time. There's Cocoon, Gran Pulse...Who knows, maybe there's another world above mine."

"Could you tell me about it? About Ivalice?"

"What's there to tell?" he asked, staring at their distorted reflections in the water's waves. "You have Rozarria, the land of odious royalty and selfish men. Dalmasca, the land of endless deserts. Landis, the fallen city. And Archadia, the land of war-hungry fiends." He sighed weakly, shaking his head. "And that is where I'm from. Ivalice was once a peaceful place, but then the war came. And soon, all were pitted against each other in the arena. I left Archadia, and joined Dalmasca in its efforts to stop the war. Unfortunately, that's where I met my apparent demise." He scoffed, shaking the water from his hand and continuing to watch their reflections. "If only I could remember their faces...There were two orphans, a fallen knight, a princess, and my partner, Fran. But when I try to remember, their faces are like our reflection now. A mystery."

Lightning bent down behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "If you look close enough...the reflections are clear. See?" She smiled weakly. "All you need to do is looker harder."

"I do remember one thing, though, from when I was...'gone'." He looked toward her, his eyes meeting her curious ones. "Your sister. Serah. She was there, telling me not to give up."

_You were worried about them, weren't you Serah. I had lost myself, and you were there to bring me back to the world of awakening. If only...you could have returned with me._

**

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**

_He was standing in the field of flowers again, and Balthier stood up as soon as he saw Serah standing at his side. She smiled at him, as before, while he looked around in confusion._

_"It's all right," she told him, "You're asleep, like me."_

_Balthier stopped looking around and faced her. "Asleep?"_

_"Mhm. I wanted to thank you for watching over Claire, when I can't." Serah's smile faded, and she looked down at her folded hands. "Although, I wanted to know why you left them. They're your friends, aren't they?"_

_"Straight to the point, aren't you?" he asked, looking up toward the bright sky above them. "I don't even understand why I left them. Perhaps I am afraid to lose them, as I had the others."_

_"You don't need to be afraid for them," she answered, touching his arm gently. "As for your friends back in Ivalice...The only way to save them is to save Cocoon." She walked past him, lightly kicking at the pink flowers at their feet. "You see, our worlds were once connected, Balthier. Long ago, the Occuria and the fal'Cie were once the same being. However, the way tore them apart, and the worlds of Ivalice, Cocoon and Gran Pulse were separated. That is, until you arrived. You are what binds our worlds together - until the time is right to separate them once again."_

_Balthier folded his arms across his chest, frowning as she turned back around to face him._

_"If Cocoon is destroyed while you're here, Ivalice will suffer the same fate."_

_"And so it's up to me to put an end to all this?"_

_She nodded. "Exactly." Serah walked up beside him, staring up at the sky. "As long as you do what you think is right, you won't fail. Don't give up. Keep going."_

**

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**

After Balthier and Lightning returned to the camp, Vanille surprised Balthier with a treasure she'd found out exploring: his old fomalhaut gun. It was in the village tomb, simply lying in the doorway when they'd arrived. He gladly took it, not even regretting getting rid of the swords he'd used since arriving on Cocoon. Finally, he had something that truly reminded him of Ivalice.

The next morning, the group returned to the spot where they'd fought Barthandelus on the ruined high-way. The air ship was still there, as the old man had said, but right in front of it was some sort of stone creature: a Cie'th Stone, Vanille had told Balthier. As soon as they saw it, their good moods faded away.

"So, this is the end of the rainbow, huh?" Sazh asked, frowning. "Here's hoping the pots full of tips on dealing with crackpot fal'Cie."

Fang rested a hand on her chin, thinking. "Hm. You know, I don't remember this being here before. I guess it's new, huh?"

"Yeah, must be," Vanille agreed, shrugging her shoulders. "I suppose it might be a record of what happened. You know, after we turned to crystal." She walked forward and touched the stone, and as soon as she reached forward a green light erupted from it. Words appeared before them, but she couldn't read the writing it was in. She turned toward Balthier, who walked forward and examined the stone's words.

"Cocoon, where the slaves of Lindzei dwell, is the enemy of all life fostered by Pulse's sacred hand," he read, recognizing the writing as what they used back in Ivalice. "So our fal'Cie determined Pulse's will, chose l'Cie and gave them a Focus: become Ragnarok and bring about the end of Cocoon. And so the beast arose, defeated Lindzei's hateful fal'Cie and prepared to tear Cocoon apart. But Her Propidence betrayed our l'Cie, draining Ragnarok of strength. Their Focus only have complete, the l'Cie were taken to the enemy's land by Barthandelus, curse his name. And the goddess said: '_L'Cie who rest upon Cocoon will reawaken, however long they may wait for our brothers the Occuria and their Chosen One. And Ragnarok will rise again, to tear the land from its seat in the sky_.' Her word...is absolute."

The words disappeared into the stone once more, and the green light faded from sight. Balthier turned toward the others, smirking weakly. The Cie'th Stone's words had told them of Fang and Vanille's Focus from five hundred years before, of why Balthier was brought to Cocoon by the Occuria, and of Cocoon's fate.

"Guess the jig is up," Sazh murmured, shaking his head in regret.

Hope frowned. "Cocoon's done for, isn't it?"

"Hey, don't sweat it. If Balthier here goes ahead and smashes Cocoon, who know some Maker's sure to roll up and save the day."

Balthier glared at Sazh, but ended up smirking when he realized the man was only trying to brighten up everyone's mood.

"As long as the fal'Cie are around, this fight is never gonna end," Snow said, as determined as ever. "So let's finish it. Let's get Dysley."

"And, Orphan?" Balthier asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We help Orphan," Fang answered. "What else can we do? If we can manage to keep it safe-"

"Another war breaks out somewhere down the road," Lightning interrupted, stepping out from between Snow and Balthier. "We're just a bunch of l'Cie and one human who's not even from this place. It's not like we can make people stop fighting."

They all went silent, until Hope stepped forward and faced the female soldier. "Lightning," he said, "you told me on Cocoon: 'It's not a question of can or can't. We just do it.' That's our only choice this time. Maybe it won't do much, and maybe only one person will listen to us. But even then, isn't trying better than doing nothing?"

Vanille happily walked up to him, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Because ripples can make waves!"

Sazh raised an eyebrow, turning toward the others. "Okay, kids have gone crazy."

"Insurgents always get called insane," Balthier murmured in reply, smirking.

The redheaded girl walked past them all, looking up toward the sky. "When I was on Cocoon," she told them, "I wished on those fireworks. I wished not to let anything happen to Cocoon this time. But I shouldn't have wished for that. Wishes aren't enough. Prayers, either." She turned around, smiling at them all. "This time, I'm making a promise. I will keep Cocoon safe. I promise, no matter what."

The black man laughed weakly. "I guess it takes losing everything to make you see how much you have to fight for, huh?"

Snow walked forward, clapping a hand on Balthier's shoulder and grinning widely. "And we're the only ones who can do it, right?" he asked.

"The heroes," Balthier added, lightly pushing the blond man's hand away and walking toward Lightning.

When everyone agreed, the pink-haired woman looked toward them. "All right, then," she said, "Let's tie up loose ends."

As the group headed onto the air ship, Balthier looked back once more at the skies of Gran Pulse, remembering the skies back home in Ivalice. He smirked weakly, heading toward the air ship with Lightning at his side.

_Even if we were chasing naught but shadows, our path was decided. We had realized along the way that choice was the only thing left for us. Perhaps we wouldn't even get the chance to save everything. But someone - someday - would know that we had tried._

Balthier sat down in the pilot's seat in the cockpit, and Sazh sat down in the co-pilot's chair. They nodded to each other, and the chocobo chick flew from the other man's afro and onto Balthier's shoulder, chirping at him. Vanille giggled from where she sat between them on the floor, noticing the sky pirate's slightly annoyed expression.

"I can't concentrate with you chattering away in my ear, bird," he murmured, but the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. It chirped at him again, lightly pecking at his ear, forcing him to wince weakly. "Ow, damn, _fine_! You can stay there. But refrain from making _too_ much noise, all right?"

It happily flew on top of his head, and Sazh laughed loudly. "And now you know how I feel!"

Balthier only muttered something under his breath, and then flew the air ship into the sky and toward the gate to Cocoon.

**

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**

When they returned to Cocoon, it was already night there and the capital city of Eden was holding some-sort of event that had purposely attracted thousands of people. Lightning was the first to summon her Eidolon, and the others followed in suit as they jumped off the air ship and into the sky. They all went off to separate parts of the race track, and Balthier landed on his feet beside Snow, curiously looking at the crowd watching them. A soldier driving a hover-car nearly crashed into them, but the Shiva Sisters blocked it before it could hit the two men.

"Close call!" Snow yelled out, as the Sisters transformed into a motorcycle. He looked out toward the crowd cheering at them, and waved his right arm in the air. "And the hero saves the day!"

"You know," Balthier murmured, adjusting the gloves on his hands, "it's not proper for a true hero to gloat..." The crowd must have seen Snow's brand on the large screen, because they started to panic as sirens rang out into the air around them. Balthier pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "Might have been smart to cover that, Ice."

Snow jumped onto the motorcycle, and Balthier sat behind him, looking up as soon as a loud voice spoke over the speakers. "_Intruders on the race circuit! Confirmed Pulse l'Cie! All units respond with lethal force!_"

"Catch us if you can!" the blond called out before the two of them sped off on the cycle. Balthier couldn't help but grin widely as the wind rushed past them when they continuously avoided the bullets fired upon them from enemy soldiers. He peered over Snow's shoulder to see Hope and his Eidolon, Alexander, getting ready to block the path up ahead. The drove past the two, and immediately the hover-cars chasing after them crashed into Alexander's extended walls. However, some got through and the blond turned toward Balthier. "Time for the leading man to shine!" he yelled, grinning at the sky pirate. "Get 'em, Balthier!"

Balthier jumped off of the speeding motorcycle, barely landing on his feet in front of the crashed hover-cars. He cracked his knuckles, smirking as the soldiers jumped out of the cars and aimed their guns at him, surrounding the area. "Now then," he said to them, "would you men like to meet my leading lady?"

He tossed his gold esper stone into the air, shooting it in one swift movement with the fomalhaut. Ultima appeared from the summoning circle, and with a wave of her hand all the soldiers were instantly killed with magick. Balthier took the esper goddess' outstretched gentle hand and she flung him into the air, assisting him when he shot down soldiers arriving from the back of the race track. He landed on his feet in front of her, resting the fomalhaut on his shoulder.

"And that is how to put on a show," he stated, smirking.

Lightning arrived on Odin, in horse form, after taking down the soldiers from her end of the track. She watched as Balthier dismissed Ultima from battle, and then called out to him. "Balthier, come on!" she yelled just as he turned around, noticing that she was there. He hurriedly jumped on behind her when more soldiers arrived, and somewhere above, the fal'Cie Eden lit up in the sky in one instant as they rode off into the distance.

They met with the others behind the capital building, and after avoiding the creatures from Pulse that had traveled through the gate after them, the group arrived at what seemed to be a dead end. Sazh looked down at the city roads below them, uneasily turning around and facing the others.

"Uh, okay," he stated, "I don't know about this..."

"If only we could fly!" Vanille said with a pout, looking over the edge as well. Balthier walked past her as Lightning handed him something, and turned around to face the rest of the group, mainly Vanille.

"Well," he told her with a sly smirk, "we can always jump." Without warning, he let himself fall off of the ledge, grinning all the while as Vanille cried out in surprise.

She looked over the edge, and yelled out, "Balthier, you'll kill yourself!" Much to her dismay, the others jumped after him, and Fang pulled her to her feet. With that, the two of them jumped off the ledge together, and Vanille closed her eyes the entire time, clinging to her partner tightly as she screamed.

Balthier was waiting for them when they used the transportation-devices to help them safely land on the feet. He greeted them with a smirk, until Vanille stormed right up to him and pushed him roughly on the shoulder. "You are an insane man, do you hear me?" she angrily yelled at him, ignoring the others' amused looks behind her. "I really doubt sky pirates can actually _fly_, so don't you dare try that again!"

"Then perhaps next time I'll warn you," he answered, messing up her hair with his free hand. She pushed him again, only this time she was smiling like her normal self.

**

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**

As they went through the city toward Orphan's Cradle, the group met up with multiple people who, surprisingly, were willing to help them in their own way. Snow's old gang NORA showed up out of the blue, and aided them without even caring that their leader had been turned into a l'Cie (although, Lebreau was much too distracted by Balthier being there to even notice that Snow was trying to apologize to her and the others). After that, Yaag Rosch gave his own life to allow the l'Cie and the outsider to escape into Orphan's Cradle, performing a kamikaze move against the PSICOM soldiers in their path. Balthier had to admit: that was a true heroic move on his part.

By the time they reached Orphan's Cradle, the group was more than ready to face off against Dysley - or, in that case, Barthandelus. Lightning led them through a long hall way, and when they passed a large door onto a platform above an open chamber, she stopped and faced them all.

"Ready? There's no turning back," she stated, and then she turned toward a grinning Snow. "Moment of truth, hero."

The blond nodded. "I got," he reminded her, and then he looked at Balthier standing at his side. "Got any last minute speeches to get us all ready to go, leading man?"

Balthier looked toward Lightning, and their eyes met as soon as she looked back at him. "I can think of one thing," he answered, and then he walked right over to her. He placed one hand on her chin, tilting her head up so that they were staring into each other's eyes. Then, he pulled her lips to his and kissed her without another word, surprising everyone around them. Snow murmured something on the lines of "about time" under his breath, while Vanille covered her eyes in embarrassment. When they parted, he smirked at her lightly blushing face and murmured quietly, "Been waiting a while to do that."

The sky pirate turned around when he let go of Lightning's hand, and jumped off the edge of the platform; ready to face his destiny.

**

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**

_After long consideration, I decided that this story needed some romance. And so, as you may have remembered a few chapters back, Dysley revealed, while pretending to be Balthier, that Lightning was in love with the sky pirate. ;) Turns out Balthier kind of felt the same way._

_So, after all that hinting toward a relationship and sexual tension...Balthier finally made his move. xD_


	18. Shattering Dreams

**Author's Note:**_ I've had this part of this story planned out since WAY before I started this story. :D Woot-ness. Hooray for a whole bunch of dialogue!_

_I wish I could go to where you are, __**Joshua Chung**__, and give you the biggest and longest hug possible. Thank you so much for sticking with me this far!_

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**

**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Eighteen

Shattering Dreams

Lightning jumped down after Balthier once she'd regained her composure, and the others followed her almost immediately. Balthier was staring up at the crystal particles floating up around them, catching one in his hand and examining it carefully until he let it fall from his grasp. He then turned his gaze to the light forming above their heads, and his hand immediately flew to his fomalhaut out of habit. Dysley appeared before them, sitting in the throne above Orphan's pool with a dark, content smile on his face as two crystallized l'Cie appeared above.

"Dajh!" Sazh hollered, staring up at his crystallized son. Lightning and Snow yelled out Serah's name in unison when her crystal took form, and Balthier felt his heart sting when he realized why the two crystals were there.

"Life's spark shines on, once freed from its fleshly shroud," the Primarch spoke, "Dreams, meanwhile, shatter in a flash." With a wave of his hand, the two crystals were shattered right before their eyes, the pieces falling at their feet. Snow yelled out in anger, running forward to strike down the old man for destroying his fiancee's crystal. However, he was sent back flying, like many a time before, and fell on his back in front of the others.

Lightning rushed to his side, helping him sit up. "Think," she urged him, scowling, "Where's the real Serah?"

Snow looked down at the teardrop crystal in his hand, then looked up at Dysley. Balthier stepped forward, pulling out his fomalhaut. "It's not real," he told them. "Just more fal'Cie smoke and mirrors."

"Yeah," Hope agreed, getting out his boomerang. "They don't work wonders. They play tricks."

The rest of them pulled out their weapons, preparing to fight their enemy. Dysley laughed darkly, watching them in amusement. "At last, my errant l'Cie," he greeted. "Men fight men. Men battle beasts. Cocoon wars with Pulse, and Ivalice remains under the Occuria's control. There can be no end to such conflict. But the end of Cocoon and Ivalice is inevitable. Will you not at least slay Orphan and make it quick? As an act of mercy?"

"Mercy?" Lightning asked, narrowing her aqua eyes at the man. "You mean _murder_. And Cocoon won't die, neither will Ivalice. We're not here for that!" She unsheathed her gunblade, and pointed it directly at the Primarch. "We came for you."

Dysley sighed, casting his old eyes downward. "Such willful insolence. Disappointing." He began to rise into the air, staring down at them all in frustration. "You prolong Cocoon's suffering. And to what end? Refusing me but condemns another to face your Focus tomorrow. Need I remind you of the human who stands with you?" At this, Balthier narrowed his eyes even more. "With one move of resistance, I can turn him. If you will not obey, he will!" He moved to wave his hand, but a gun shot rang out and he pulled his hand down, clutching it as it bled.

Balthier lowered his fomalhaut as the smoke rose from its barrel, the smallest of smirks hinted on his serious face. "I don't respond well to orders," he stated, walking forward past the others and aiming his gun back up toward Dysley. "It's my turn, Barthandelus. Your puppet has been cut of his strings. What will you do now, I ask?"

With a loud yell of anger, Dysley transformed into the fal'Cie Barthandelus before their eyes. When the god of many faces stared menacingly at the sky pirate alone, Snow stepped forward only to have Balthier stop him.

"No. This battle is mine alone," he said to the taller man, not even glancing in his direction as he walked forward. A shield a magick appeared in front of the rest of the group as soon as Balthier left their side, stopping any of them from going any further.

As soon as Barthandelus rose into the air, its stone wings gathering up dark magick, Balthier made his move. He pulled out the gold esper stone and summoned Ultima to fight at his side, and once she appeared before him he took her offered hand, climbing up onto the pedestal she stood on. He aimed his fomalhaut at the fal'Cie, while Ultima raised her hand and formed a shield before the two of them, blocking the dark magick sent toward them. The sky pirate fired multiple magicks shots toward Barthandelus, all hitting it directly in its center face.

Ultima put both of her hands together in a praying motion, and unleashed an immense burst of light from within, and Barthandelus let out a mangled cry when the light reached its form. Balthier jumped from the pedestal, taking the blade Ultima handed to and running forward to the fal'Cie, holding the blade above his head. He lept into the air and stabbed the blade into Barthandelus' face, tightly shutting his eyes when dark-light erupted from its core. With the blade in his hands burned his skin, Balthier let go of it and was thrown to the floor in the magick's recoil.

He weakly grunted when he felt Ultima's arms wrap around his torso, gently lifting him up from the tiled floor. She tenderly pressed her lips to his cheek, fading from sight as Barthandelus' continued to writhe and sink into the pool before the throne.

"Release...At last, release!" the fal'Cie cried, sinking into the pool and disappearing from sight.

Balthier fell to his knees as soon as Ultima's presence faded away, hanging his head low and reaching for his fomalhaut that he'd dropped. As soon as the shield holding the others back fell, Lightning rushed to his side and put her arms around him, helping him sit up.

"Balthier," she whispered in his ear, resting her forehead against his soft hair. "It's done. It's finished."

Around them, the others began to celebrate their (more so, Balthier's) apparent victory, while Lightning helped the slightly-weakened Balthier stand. Something caught her eye overhead, and she looked up as soon as she saw Dysley's owl, Menevra, fly above them.

"It's that bird again!" Hope exclaimed, watching as if flew into the pool where Orphan slept. There was a sudden burst of light, and the group could only watch as Orphan rose up from the water. Three faces, one body, Orphan stared down upon them when it finally spoke.

"A haven, yea," it said, continuing to rise; it spoke in a two-toned voice, one male and one female. "Yet it must fall ere we be saved. Too frail a shell and humans should not thrive. Too stout a shell, and they would not die. Slaughter and salvation! Two irreconcilable Focuses we bore. Yet bound were we in a cocoon prison impervious to our power." Its gaze fell upon the pair standing in front, and Balthier felt Lightning's body become tense against him. "And so we thank you, human, for granting our longed-for birth."

Snow stepped forward, eyes widened in confusion. "Dysley?"

"No," Sazh answered. "Not anymore."

"We are the Abandoned One, born but now to die," the faces spoke, "Our name is Orphan. By our hand the world shall know redemption."

Balthier stepped away from Lightning, raising his fomalhaut toward the fal'Cie. "Redemption," he breathed, feeling the effects of Vanille's curative magick return his strength to him. "You believe all this destruction is _redemption_?"

Fang was the first to run forward and attack Orphan, her lance barely piercing its metallic skin. Lightning went to help her as soon as she told Balthier to sit the battle out, and both Snow and Sazh followed her lead. Vanille stayed back with Balthier, as did Hope, and the three of them worked on casting protective magick on the others. Orphan would constantly unleash both black and white magick on its enemies, and occasionally one of the four up front would have confuse cast upon them, forcing one of the others to knock some sense into them.

After a while, it seemed that there was no use in even trying to fight against the fal'Cie. Balthier looked around Orphan, trying to figure out why none of their attacks seemed to be connecting. At last, he saw it. A translucent shell of some sort, barely visible around the fal'Cie's form.

"Light!" he called out from where he stood behind all the others, "Stop! The shell - it's still upon it!"

Lightning looked up just as Orphan began to laugh, rising up from the pool of water. As soon as its height reached the ceiling, dark magick energy was released all around the group and shocked them all. Balthier gritted his teeth together as he fell to his knees from where Fang stood in front of him, standing against the magick despite all the pain they were suffering. Everything around him began to blur amongst the black fog, and he tried to search for the others. He tightly shut his eyes, wishing the pain away as he fell forward and laid on the floor, succumbing to unconsciousness.

**

* * *

**

Orphan sunk back down into the pool, its eyes watching Fang as she remained standing, clenching onto her lance and panting. "Have you ever paused to consider our reason for making l'Cie of men?" the fal'Cie asked. "We fal'Cie are crafted for a single purpose and granted finite power to that end. With men it is not so. Men dream, aspire, and through indomitable force of will achieve the impossible. Your power is beyond measure. We take l'Cie that we might wield such strength."

Balthier, regaining consciousness, weakly stood up from the floor, clenching his wounded side as he looked up at Orphan. Vanille stood up a few feet behind him, though the others remained unmoving.

"Through you, we obtained freedom from our bondage," it continued, its eyes gazing between Fang and Balthier. "And now, your Focus alone remains. Defy it, and all will be for naught." Orphan raised its clawed arm, summoning a ring a magick energy around the sky pirate, shooting electric energy through his body. Vanille called out to him as he cried out in agony, frantically clawing at himself to try and break free of the pain. "Cocoon's sacrifice, and that of Ivalice as well. Yet, if we but summon the Maker, we will be granted to begin again. All our sins absolved, and the world - born anew!"

The rings rose higher into the air, Balthier along with them, and he continued to scream out. Fang stared up with wide eyes at his suffering form, while Vanille was desperately crying for the fal'Cie to stop torturing him.

It ignored her pleas. "Submit, human! Become Ragnarok!" it yelled, "Lead us into the light!"

The magick energy grew stronger, and the sky pirate could do nothing else but yell out. Fang finally stepped forward, facing the fal'Cie. "Let him go!" she demanded, "He's not the one you want!"

"We have no need of flawed l'Cie," Orphan said, turning its gaze upon her.

"Orphan! I'll do it. I'll destroy you," she stated, taking another step forward. Behind her, Vanille covered her mouth to stifle her cries, fearing for both of her comrades.

The rings around Balthier vanished, and he was dropped back onto the floor. The redheaded girl ran to him, holding him close to her chest and cradling him in her arms as she healed him with curative magick. He only stared at Fang standing before the fal'Cie with blank eyes.

"Ragnarok," Orphan repeated, "The will to guide a world into oblivion. Can you bear the sins of our salvation?"

"You heard me," Fang answered, clenching her fists. "I said I'll do it!"

Balthier pushed himself away from Vanille, stumbling as he got back to his feet. "Fang, you don't need to do that!" he told her, reaching for her arm. "It's not your burden to bear. Let me become Ragnarok, let me complete your Focus for you! That's why I'm _here_, to end all this!"

Brushing past him, Vanille faced her partner with tear filled eyes. "You can't! Please, you can't forget our promise!" she pleaded, bringing her hands to her chest. "We promised to save Cocoon! We promised!"

In one swift motion, Fang held her lance toward Vanille in a threatening way. "I made a promise, too," she hissed through gritted teeth, and her voice cracked as she spoke. "To protect my family." She lowered her lance, walking toward the girl and ignoring her tears.

Around the chamber, the others began to wake up, hearing the yells of three of their comrades. Lightning slowly got to her knees, and Snow was the first to spot the three standing before them. "Fang?" he murmured, rubbing his eyes to check if he was seeing things clearing.

"Sometimes...You've gotta choose!" Fang yelled, raising her hand that held her lance as she prepared to strike Vanille down. Snow ran forward, as did Sazh, and the two of them held her back while Balthier grabbed Vanille's arm, pulling her back. Lighting and Hope stood in front of the pair, holding out their arms defensively to protect them. "Back off!" the black-haired woman yelled to the ones holding her back.

"What do you gain from hurting Vanille?" Lightning asked, breathing heavily from running all the way across the chamber. "We're in this _together_!"

Fang looked down, narrowing her eyes. "This is my Focus," she murmured, "And no one's gonna stop me." She pushed Snow and Sazh away, sending them flying across the chamber, summoning some unknown power.

Lightning flinched when she realized what was happening, but she didn't dare to move away from protecting those she cared for. Fang jumped into the air, her lance glowing in a bright gold light, and she stabbed it into the floor, unleashing a force of magick against her comrades. Balthier pulled Vanille into his arms as he turned his back to the sight before them, holding her close to his chest and shielding her from the magick. He shut his eyes just as a white light enveloped them all.

**

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**

Balthier forced his eyes open when he heard the familiar growling of Cie'th, and he loosened his grip on Vanille when he turned around. Fang stood before Orphan, and around her were what ceased to be their comrades: Cie'th. The one that caught his eye was the creature that kicked a gunblade across the floor as it limped toward the black-haired woman, and he felt his heart stop when he realized that only he, Vanille and Fang remained.

"Everything I do...Why? Is this what you meant to happen?" Fang yelled, looking around as the Cie'th came toward her. She hung her head low, closing her eyes. "All of 'em..."

Orphan laughed manically as Balthier felt his knees go weak, wondering what he could have done to prevent what had just taken place. "It can't be," he breathed, taking a step back. His comrades, his _friends_. Snow, Hope, Sazh..._Lightning_. They were gone, turned into mindless creatures wanting nothing more than to kill. The ones who'd helped him when he needed them, the ones he trusted, were no longer there.

"After all we went through..." Vanille fell to her knees beside Balthier, crying quietly as she stared down at the floor. Her wet tears fell to the floor, but that didn't stop the Cie'th from limping closer and closer to Fang.

The monsters began to attack her, hitting her with their deformed arms and groaning words in another language. She willingly took the blows, wincing each time one of the arms came in contact with her skin. Her eyes met with Balthier's frightened ones when she looked up, giving him a weak, but reassuring smile. "Guess I deserve it, after what I did!" she murmured, before the Cie'th knocked her to the floor. She coughed, blood dripping from her mouth as she weakly asked, "Are they my sin to bear for choosing salvation?"

The Cie'th collapsed on top of her, crushing her beneath them. Balthier clenched his fists, staring up at Orphan with furious eyes. "Stop it!" he yelled to it, but it only continued to laugh at their pain. "Bring them back!"

Fang's burned brand began to glow from under the Cie'th pile, and the monsters were sent across the chest by an unimaginable force of power. She stood up, clenching her shoulder as she cried out in pain. In a flash of blinding light, Balthier and Vanille watched as the woman transformed into Ragnarok, the monster they had all feared. Vanille reached out toward the creature as it launched itself at Orphan.

"Salvation is born of sacrifice, miracles of misery!" the fal'Cie yelled as Ragnarok tried to break its way through the shell. "From shattered shards, a new crystal of legend will arise."

Ragnarok was sent back by the shield, but almost immediately, ignoring Vanille's cries, it charged toward Orphan again with endless energy on its side.

"Yes! Let anger be your strength! Despair!" Orphan exclaimed, and the monster clawed at its shield, growling and snarling in frustration. "Despair and save us all!" Ragnarok broke through its shell, but fell back in recoil. "Lo! The Day of Wrath is come!"

Balthier shut his eyes again, willing himself to a different time and place. In his mind's eye, he remembered all that had taken place on his journey in Cocoon. All that meant the most to him, and all that he had fought to save.

_...Vanille smiling at him when she had first met him, a man lost in a world he did not know. She offered her hand to him, and he took it in his own..._

_...The first time he and Snow had fought side by side against the Shiva Sisters. He had willingly let himself become a distraction, just so he wouldn't be left alone when dealing with creatures he knew nothing of..._

_...Seeing Fang smile and laugh at him when he'd made an absolute fool of himself..._

_...The time when Hope had gained the courage to forgive his father, something Balthier had longed to do, but was too afraid..._

_...Watching Sazh take control of the air ship's controls, helping them escape into a world all of them thought was a terror-filled place..._

_...The look in Lightning's eyes when he had kissed her, forgetting what they were about to face and knowing that there would never be a time when they could stay at each other's side..._

Balthier opened his eyes, watching as Ragnarok faded from sight and left Fang's broken form in the center of the chamber. Vanille was still crying; crying for the friends they'd lost, and for what would happen to the ones who remained. The sky pirate turned his gaze away, looking at the crystal particles that continued to rise up from the floor.

_Anger was not what drove us. We all had dreams to fight for._

"Yet again?" Orphan asked, its eyes staring down upon the fallen l'Cie. "How many times must you fail?"

Fang was healed by the fal'Cie magick, and she was pulled into the air by rings that bound her hands together. She barely opened her eyes when she demanded quietly, "Let me go."

"Retake the form of Ragnarok. Deliver us that which we have too long been denied! Steep yourself in hatred! Let it infuse your soul with the strength it craves!"

Balthier shut his eyes when he heard Fang cry out as Orphan tortured her, repeatedly reviving her and torturing her when she resisted its demands. When he opened his eyes, Vanille brushed past him and walked toward the fal'Cie. But he did not bother to watch her willingly surrender herself when he knew that he could have prevented any of it from happening. He could have saved them all; the others would be crystallized, not turning into Cie'th. If he had taken the form of Ragnarok instead of Fang, so much could have been saved.

"Your awakening demands an offering of pain!" Orphan yelled, raising its deformed arm toward the young girl. But she didn't move from where she stood, her green eyes glaring upon it.

"No!" she exclaimed, clenching her fists. "I swore I wouldn't run anymore! I'd rather fight and lose than give up without even trying!"

Suddenly, someone from behind fired their gun at Orphan, and as the fal'Cie roared out in despair its grasp on Fang was released. Balthier rushed forward to catch her before she could fall to the floor, but Snow stepped out of nowhere and caught her in his arms. Vanille covered her mouth in surprise, and Balthier could only stare as the others walked out from the light.

"Miracles out of misery," Sazh stated, aiming both of his guns toward the fal'Cie. "You've got to be kidding me."

Hope healed Fang as she stood up, smiling weakly. "Yeah, Fang. Who'd be dumb enough to swallow that crock?"

Balthier's eyes widened when Lightning stepped forward, holding both her gunblade and Fang's lance in her hands. "Sure," she muttered. "We've all had better weeks."

"You're alive!" Vanille breathed, her smile returning to her young face. "How?"

"Could be more fal'Cie smoke and mirrors." Lightning met Balthier's gaze, and her expression softened when he smirked at her. She turned toward Fang, and held out the lance to her. "Fang. We made you go it alone."

Fang shook her head, scoffing. "Second time now, isn't it?" She glanced away from them all, but she took her lance with a curt nod, forgiving them.

"Where were you?" Vanille asked the other l'Cie, stepping so she stood between Balthier and Fang.

"Somewhere cold and dark," Hope answered, "Just thinking about everything that happened up until now. And then...it was like-"

"It was like," Snow interrupted, pulling out the tear drop crystal from his pocket. "I had a glimpse of the future. Everyone was smiling and laughing...Even Serah and Light. And, Balthier was there, too."

"I don't know," Sazh added in, and the chocobo popped out from his hair and happily flew toward the sky pirate. "It was a new Focus, or something. Didn't really make sense, of course. I mean, knowing we were worm bait and all. But, as luck would have it, next thing I know someone was pushing me right along."

Lightning looked toward Fang and Vanille. "You were there, too, Fang. Same side. All of us," she said, "Together until the end." She looked toward Balthier, mirroring his smirk as he turned toward Snow.

"Let's end this madness, shall we, _hero_?" he said to the taller man, tilting his head slightly.

Snow grinned. "You bet, leading man."

Orphan roared out in agony again, sinking further and further into the pool beneath its form. Lightning stepped forward and stood with her gunblade in hand, facing what was left of the fal'Cie. Balthier looked to them all as their l'Cie brands shined for a moment, changing to a burned, white color.

_The brand of a l'Cie. The symbol of the Focus they faced, and the mark of the fate we all shared. Proof of the dreams we held, and the freedom we desired._

"The heroes never die," Snow stated, and Balthier raised in eyebrow at hearing _his_ saying being stolen. "C'mon, we're got a world to save!"

Hope stepped forward as well, pulling out his boomerang. "If we have the power to destroy Cocoon, then we have to power to save it! You say you want your Day of Wrath? Well, it's coming right up!"

Sazh nodded as the chocobo flew from Balthier's shoulder, back into his afro. "It's time we gave the people what they really want."

Vanille looked at them all, putting her hands together. "We can do it," she said, "I know we can. We made it this far!" She then turned toward Fang, smiling widely. "Let's make a real miracle happen!"

Laughing under her breath, Fang stepped forward and spung her lance above her hand. "Lady Luck sure ain't on his side!"

A demonic laugh, high and shrilling, rang out all around them as a light erupted from the pool of water. Balthier pulled out his fomalhaut and took his place between Lightning and Snow, his smirk never faltering as all of them watched as Orphan revealed its true form and raised out from the water. It was nothing more than a spinning wheel to them, no longer a monster that threatened them all.

"You overreach yourselves," it said to them, opening its blank white eyes.

"No," Lightning answered, narrowing her eyes. "We overreach you."

"...Is that so?"

She stepped forward, almost smiling as she spoke. "You don't believe in anything. You gave up on life before you were even born. Sat poisoning Cocoon from the inside. Waiting for someone to come and destroy you. Sure, you think the end of the world is salvation. All you care about is death's release. So take it, and leave the rest of us alone. We don't think like that." The rest of the group prepared for battle, and Balthier watched as Lightning seemed to become even more confident. "When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some. Maybe Cocoon is past saving, but it's our home. And we'll protect it or die trying! We live to make the impossible possible!" She raised her gunblade above her head, then held it firmly at her side in one hand. "That is _our_ Focus!"

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_Holy cow. Epic chapter? :D_


	19. Freedom

**Author's Note:** _Holy cow. One more chapter after this. Eeeeeep! And, there's a reason for this chapter being so...short-ish. There's always a method to my madness! :3  
_

_I don't know what I'd do without you, __**Joshua Chung**__. If you weren't reviewing for this story, I'd be sad and would have most likely given up on it! Thank you._

_My thanks also go to __**The Giant Daifuku**__, who still continues to inspire me! *hug*  
_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Nineteen

Freedom

_Now, or never. Those were my thoughts during that final battle. It was either the end of the fal'Cie, or the end of both of our worlds._

Orphan let out a ear-shattering cry, and once its eyes laid upon the group it smiled darkly and laughed. Balthier raised his fomalhaut and fired the first shot right in-between the fal'Cie eyes, and the fight began. Lightning ran forward and leapt into the air, summoning thunder magick and sending it toward their enemy when she slashed her gunblade at its face. The others joined in, all using their different ways to distract Orphan from their leading fighters.

The seven of them ended up splitting into three groups: Fang with Vanille, Hope with Sazh, and Lightning, Balthier, and Snow with each other. As Balthier and Snow followed Lightning's lead, the fal'Cie cast a Doom magick spell upon the sky pirate, mirroring what everyone's Eidolons and Ultima had done in battles beforehand. Balthier didn't seem to notice that his strength was slowing leaving him, but when he did it only fueled his desire to end everything sooner. As long as the job was done, that was all that mattered to him.

Lives were depending on them all, both from Cocoon and Ivalice. Their worlds, their _homes_, were on the line. If they failed...that was it. There were no chances to try again, no way of resetting time. "Now or never," Balthier muttered as he fired another shot at the fal'Cie, weakly narrowing his eyes.

Though he may have forgotten them, he wouldn't let his comrades in Ivalice down. Fran was still there, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing her when he wasn't there to save her. They were partners; dedicated, looking out for one another even when apart.

Balthier glanced toward Lightning, who was too busy fighting to notice that he was watching her. He may have been whole-heartedly dedicated to Fran back in Ivalice, he wouldn't deny that he held feelings for the female soldier. He hadn't had the time to really think about what he felt for her, and he wished that he still had the chance to understand. Once the final battle was over and they saved Cocoon and Ivalice, the life he held onto would be gone. And his chance to stay with Lightning? That would become nothing more than an unobtainable dream.

But that didn't stop him. If he had to give his life to save others, he would go down with a smile.

Orphan's eyes began to glow, and Lightning was sent back flying when it unleashed a strong force of magick against her. Balthier ran forward and caught her in his arms, only wincing once when he felt his shoulders grow tense from the force of her fall. She confidently smiled when he set her back down on the ground, and went back to the battle as if nothing had changed. Balthier aimed his fomalhaut again, squinting his eyes to focus on his target.

Nothing _would_ change between the two of them. They had only known each other for a short time, and in that time Lightning had learned to cast her past aside and look to the future, understanding that she needed to move on if she was to succeed.

And what had he learned on his journey? His eyes darted toward Snow, watching the man let out an optimistic yell as he struck another blow against Orphan.

_Though I had denied it before, a story can have more than one leading man. Cocoon had Snow, and Ivalice had myself. But now that I look back on that journey, we weren't the only heroes there._

It had always been a silent rivalry between Balthier and Snow, even if the latter had known nothing of it. From the moment they'd met Balthier had a feeling that the blond was more than talk, despite what the others believed. Snow was dedicated to doing as he'd promised Serah, willingly going into danger to protect what she had believed in. He was one of the few who remained at the sky pirate's side, even when their future seemed bleak. And, despite all the odds, he'd been able to keep at least one promise.

His promise to get Balthier back to Ivalice, however, seemed be nothing more than a memory.

"Hey, pirate!" Fang called out to him, snapping him out of his daze. She stood on the other side of the chamber, turning around to face the sky pirate. "Why don't you lend us a hand 'stead of day-dreaming? Now ain't the time to be doing that!"

He only smirked in reply, nodding as he turned his attention back to the battle. When he turned his head, Orphan transformed into a winged creature, rising into the air and beyond their reach. Balthier saw Lightning running toward him, and immediately he took her outstretched hand and turned around, letting go of her once she jumped toward the fal'Cie. He nearly stumbled to the ground when he let her go, breathing heavily when he realized the god's timed-spell on him was taking its toll. With one magick-infused move, she stabbed her gunblade into Orphan's face, mimicking what Balthier had done when he'd fought Barthandelus on his own.

When she landed back on her feet beside him, Orphan let out a mangled wail as it began to sink into the pool below. Light erupted from its form, nearly blinding the group as they stepped back. Lightning, however, remained where she stood and held out her gunblade.

"We're here to stop him," she stated, stepping forward. "We've come to save Cocoon and Ivalice, right?"

Everyone remained at guard after she spoke, and Balthier walked forward and stood by her side, smirking when their eyes met. Orphan screamed and sunk further into the pool, and before they knew it they were enveloped by a bright, some-what comforting light when the fal'Cie screamed no longer.

_After all that we had done, after all that we endured...It was over. We had saved their world, and Ivalice. However...At what cost?_

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The next thing they knew, they were floating in mid air away from Orphan's Cradle and toward the fal'Cie Eden in the sky. Cocoon continued to break apart into crystal particles around them, and in a sudden burst of energy Eden ceased to light up the city below. Creatures from Gran Pulse still walked the streets of the capital, unknowingly destroying everything in their path. Lightning turned toward the group and extended her hand toward Balthier as he stared upon their surroundings.

"Stay together!" she yelled, and the rest of them quickly grabbed onto each other without hesitation. Balthier took Lightning's hand in his own, and as they stared at each other's worried faces, knowing what would soon happen, Snow's voice snapped them out of their daze.

"_Fang_!_ Vanille_!"

Fang and Vanille remained below, holding hands as they watched the rest of their comrades slowly float away. Vanille smiled at them one last time, and then faced her companion with a determined nod. Without warning, the two l'Cie disappeared in a burst of light and summoned the complete form of Ragnarok, all the creatures from Gran Pulse disintegrating when the light reached them. Ragnarok dove beneath the surface of Cocoon and disappeared from sight.

Balthier wished that he hadn't let Lightning's hand slip from his own at that point.

When the white light of the summoning had reached him, he could only watch as he began to slowly fade away with the crystal particles from Cocoon. They had been told before that saving Cocoon would come at a terrible price, but Balthier had chosen not to believe it. When he saw the others staring at him in fear, it seemed that they hadn't believed it either.

Lightning frantically reached for him, her bright eyes widening when he shook his head. He looked to them all, then turned his head back to her and weakly smiled. She pulled away from Snow's grasp, reaching her hand out to Balthier as he continued to fade away.

"No! You can't leave!" she cried, struggling to reach his hand. "_Balthier_!"

Snow held her back, wrapping his strong arm around her waist and tightly shutting his eyes. Lightning tried to get away from him, but when her eyes met with Balthier's one last time, she stopped struggling and remained still. She didn't want to admit it, but she had known all along what was going to happen. Balthier reached forward and held out his translucent hand to her, and she took it without saying another word. He nodded once, his eyes never leaving hers, and then let go.

_Freedom isn't obtained by just waiting for it to appear. It's what we create for ourselves when we take that one chance to leave the past behind. We give it to others when we regret it most, knowing that things would never change. Luckily, I had given them the freedom they deserved._

Balthier waved a weak hand to them all, and then faded from sight as he regretfully watched Lightning, Snow, Sazh and Hope turn to crystal.

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_Next chapter will be...short-ish, too. I couldn't put the two together and have it work out the way I wanted to. So...onto the epilogue!  
_


	20. Epilogue: Will Not Let You Go

**Author's Note:** _Here it is. The end. The epilogue's title is based off of the song _My Hands _by Leona Lewis, the song played in the english ending of Final Fantasy XIII. I totally recommend that you listen to it, if you haven't already!_

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**S** o **S** t a r s t r u c k

Epilogue

Will Not Let You Go

_Lightning, wake up._

Lightning opened her eyes as she stepped onto the ground, the feeling in her hands returning to her as the crystal fell from her skin. Taking a breath of Gran Pulse's clean air, she looked up toward the sky, toward the fully crystallized Cocoon high above her head. A small smile formed on her lips, and she closed her eyes.

"They did it," she breathed, letting her hands rest at her sides. "They saved the world."

She heard foot steps come up behind her, and she turned around to face Snow, Sazh, and Hope. All of them, too, were staring at Cocoon with wide eyes, unbelieving of what had happened. Snow walked up beside Lightning and clapped a hand on her shoulder, and for once she didn't shove him away.

"No," he told her, smiling weakly. "They gave us a _new_ one."

"That's one gift I'll forgive 'em for not wrapping," Sazh said with a wide grin.

Behind them, people walked out from the distance and looked all around, and PSICOM soldiers moved to guide them all to safety. No one saw the four near the crystal in the sky, the four who had saved them from fate. Hope started laughing out of relief, grinning when he saw Lightning smile weakly.

"Does this mean we completed our Focus?" he asked her, rubbing the back of his neck.

Snow shrugged his shoulders. "Cocoon's seen better days, that's for sure."

"Yeah," Sazh agreed, nodding his head. "And I'd say that qualifies as a demolition. Focus complete."

Lightning turned her head toward Cocoon's crystal again, her aqua eyes watching it shimmer in the light. "It...really is a miracle," she whispered, low enough for no one to hear her. She turned back to the others, just as Snow frowned all of the sudden.

"Wait," he stated, looking all around them. "We're...missing someone. I could have sworn that...there was someone else with us the entire time we were..." His voice trailed off, and he shook his head when he gave up trying to remember.

Someone else? Lightning looked toward Cocoon again, frowning when she couldn't understand what he'd meant. But, for some reason, looking at the sky comforted her in her sadness.

Hope scratched his chin, trying to remember as well. "You know, I don't...remember anyone else who was with us. It was just the six of us, saving Cocoon. Snow, maybe you hit your head back there, or something!" He grinned again, and the blond man nodded.

"Maybe...We're not meant to remember," he murmured, turning his head as something caught his eye. In the distance, walking away from the crystallized Cocoon's base, were Serah and Dajh. He smiled widely and rushed forward to greet her, and Sazh ran after him to see his son.

Hope was laughing and smiling again, and Lightning reached for her lightning-bolt necklace when she watched Snow and Serah's reunion. But, when she touched her neck, she was surprised to find that her necklace wasn't there anymore. Lightning frowned for a moment, but when she turned her head toward the sky she smiled once more.

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In the center of Cocoon's crystal, Fang and Vanille remained with their eyes closed and their bodies eternally crystallized with their hands entwined as they floated in the light.

"_Not meant to remember, huh?"_ Fang asked, her voice sounded almost regretful. "_That doesn't seem fair, Vanille._"

Vanille's voice was just as sad, if not more. "_It's a sad thing, but it was all we could do. Their memories of him were the price to pay for saving Cocoon, and Ivalice._"

"_Still think it would have been better for him to stay_." She scoffed, "_Then again, he's got a home, too._"

Vanille laughed weakly. "_I guess the leading man will get the happy ending he wanted them to have._" She then quietly spoke to someone in a distant world,"_It's easy to lose sight of things in a world as wide as this one...But if you keep going, you're sure to find what you're looking for - sooner or later._"

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In the world called Ivalice, somewhere outside the city of Rabanastre, Balthier slowly opened his eyes when he heard a calm voice assuring him that he would be all right. When Vanille's voice left his mind, he tiredly got to his feet and looked toward the sky, shielding his eyes from the blazing sun above.

"Sooner or later," he murmured, sighing as he tilted his head downward. "I hope you're right, you two."

Fran was standing at the gates to Rabanastre, lightly tapping her clawed foot on the sand as she watched her partner with curious eyes. She tilted her head to the side, and then he turned in her direction. Instantly his eyes lit up when she nodded her head to him, and he began to walk toward her. But, once he took a few steps, he looked down at his closed hand. He slowly opened it, his gaze softening when it laid upon the lightning-bolt necklace he held. With a weak, saddened smile, he turned his head and looked back toward the blue sky and sighed heavily.

Balthier turned away and walked to Fran, enclosing his hand gently over the necklace and closing his eyes. Fran eyed him carefully when he stood in front of her, but she smiled ever-so slightly when his signature smirk returned to his face. Together they walked into Rabanastre, ready to greet the new dawn.

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_Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this little story of mine! I love you all._

_My loving thanks goes to __**Joshua Chung**__, who is the most amazing and wonderful person for leaving comments that continuously made me smile as I wrote. The same goes to __**The Giant Daifuku**__, who I must thank for being my inspiration to take the chance and write this little story! I love you guys!_

_So! The sequel will be out soon! It will be titled __**Bad Bromance**__, and will take place in Ivalice. ;) So, keep an weathering eye out for it!_

_Love, Cherri._


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